The Antimorphs Saga
by Elcolo9
Summary: The battle against the Animorphs is over, but the battle for the stars has just begun....The Saga is complete, but the adventure is just beginning... (Added some new dialogue to the Epilogue...)
1. PrologueRomania, 1942

1 The Antimorphs Saga  
  
Prologue  
  
Romania, 1942  
  
Nazi Occupied  
  
  
  
Pierre LaRouche sat, apprehensive in his seat on the train, as it made its way through the Romanian wilderness, repeatedly asking himself why he was aiding the Third Reich.  
  
LaRouche was not a German, not a National Socialist. He was not Aryan. By all definition he should have ended up in the camps with the bulk of the others like him.  
  
But no, he was shown mercy, for the old Frenchman knew more than enough to satisfy Hitler's demented obsession with the occult.  
  
He had been told mere days ago that his presence was requested by the S.S. in the remote Romanian forests. Something had been found in an isolated mountain village that required his attention.  
  
Something that had cause six highly trained S.S. soldiers to vanish without a trace. Visions of otherworldly demons and undead horrors that plagued a colossal fortress, standing in the hills like a monolith.  
  
But there was something more, strange markings in the innermost chambers, things that no Nazi experts could decipher.  
  
"This gives a bad feeling," said LaRouche, thinking aloud, "Very sinister."  
  
The train pulled into station, a small railway filled with more soldiers than civilians, as the Germans made their invasion of Russia a grim reality.  
  
LaRouche exited the train, wobbling on his legs. They had fallen asleep, and it took all his strength to walk to his waiting S.S. car.  
  
A tall, blond German officer greeted him, with the German salute.  
  
"Heil Hitler."  
  
LaRouche did not respond to the officer's welcome.  
  
The officer continued, "I am Deputy S.S. Cheif Reinharde Heinrich, no doubt you have heard of me?"  
  
LaRouche nearly spat the words, "How could I not have?"  
  
Heinrich was a very evil man, and one of the most powerful figures in the Reich. He was second in command of the S.S. and the officer who had proposed to send all Jews and other opponents of the Reich to the concentration camps, and to death.  
  
This man was evil incarnate, and he was the one who had sent for LaRouche.  
  
"Herr Doctor, we require your presence in the Fort, immediately. Two more men have vanished."  
  
LaRouche nodded his head, understanding the Nazi's statement.  
  
The two men entered the car, and drove up steep mountain roads and thickly wooded forest for nearly an hour. When they exited the wood, they were greeted with an awesome sight.  
  
The fort stood sentinel over the surrounding countryside, a magnificent castle that had somehow fallen into disarray over the centuries. It's stone was pure black, so dark that it seemed to suck up all the light around it, for the sky around it was dark as night, though it wasn't even noon yet.  
  
Above the fort, LaRouche could see artillery cannons nestled on the roof, and German soldiers running about, doing errands. Above it all, flew a Nazi Swastika, observing the scene with grim excellence.  
  
The car pulled to a halt, and the two men exited, LaRouche first setting foot on the ground and walking hurridly towards the castle.  
  
"Do you know who built it?" Asked LaRouche, with a tinge of uncertainty in his voice.  
  
"Information in that area is speculative, at best," replied the German, "Some say the Turks, other say Vlad the Impaler, and still others say Christian warlords during the crusades. It could be anyone of them.  
  
Walking briskly, LaRouche entered the building, his old legs stepping up each cobblestone with caution. He did not like the feel of this place. Something in the air was not right.  
  
"It is hot in here."  
  
"Yes, the men have been complaining. It reaches temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celcius, as you get closer into the center."  
  
As they walked through the dim hallways of the ancient castle, LaRouche realized that he had been walking without direction.  
  
"Herr Heinrich, this is all very impressive, but may I ask as to what purpose I have been summoned here?"  
  
Heinrich smiled, "I was hoping that you would ask. This whole fortress is basically four outer walls, and small bunkers connecting them. In the center, where the heat is greatest, there is a giant, hollow, stone bunker. No entrances or exits, but covered in strange markings. We were hoping that you would be able to tell us what they mean, and possibly help us to enter the chamber."  
  
Heinrich led the Doctor even further into the fortress, and the heat chewed on both of them like a dog chewing on its bone. Both of them were sweating through their shirts.  
  
The inner cloister was almost deserted when Heinrich and LaRouche entered. A few lanterns gave the room an eerie glow, and a few soldiers stood guard, nervous. When Heinrich entered, they saluted and stood tall, each bellowing a "Heil Hiter" as they looked at each other nervously.  
  
LaRouche sympathised with them. He didn't want to be here either.  
  
"Can you tell us what these markings mean?"  
  
The Doctor paused, looking at the ancient runes, carved roughly into the wall.  
  
"This is not any dialect that I have ever seen. Not Turkish, nor is it Romanian. It looks like a combination of Latin and Greek, and a few Hebrew words here or there."  
  
The Nazi scoffed, "That makes no sense! Why would anyone write in such a language?"  
  
LaRouche read on, "I did not build the castle, Heinrich, I am just doing my job. I tell you what I see, nothing more, nothing less."  
  
He moved his hands across the rocks as he slowly translated, moving between three different languages.  
  
"In the year of the Dragon…the killer of Goliath…will change from vermin to man…and slay his comrades…seeking a cube of power…"  
  
"Gibberish"  
  
LaRouche seemed not to hear the German's comment, as he continued, "For his name is of the King of the Israelites, and his followers shall number six. When the seventh is taken, the Serb will kill the son of the king. Mankind's Gaurdians will be slain by…shape shifters."  
  
"Shape shifters? Impossible!"  
  
"And the stealers of minds will be victorious, and all of mankind will be enslaved. The king will leave this world, but visit many others. He will leave his pursuers as the Romans left Christ, and will possess a stone of great fury, a stone of demons. For of the Dark Lord should find this stone, his throne will no longer hold him. Know that the name of the Dark Lord is…I can't read this, it doesn't look like any rune I've seen before."  
  
"Keep reading!" Barked Heinrich.  
  
"When the King is born, take heed! Know that he will bear the mark of the Beast, and that his followers will not all worship him, as will one named for the lands of Egypt. For one shall be part animal, one a man of Gual, one Mercenary of angels, and one not of this world. Still, one more shall be an innocent, blood of the kings greatest foe. They shall search the stars for her, and hunt their prey in many forms."  
  
'Such a thing is impossible! This is pure nonsense, we have heard enough!"  
  
But LaRouche continued, as if he was in a trance.  
  
"The Dark Lord shall confront them, to possess the Burning Stone. If he comes to hold it, then all shall burn in Tartarus. The Stone is within this mortal plane, and He has sent his servents to find it. One of them has been imprisoned within these walls. Should he ever escape, his Dark Master will know whence the stone is. Beware the followers of the King, for they call themselves…the Anti…"  
  
There was little more, but LaRouche could barley read it. Heinrich was paniking now, the room was filling with a thick red mist, and the heat was becoming unbearable.  
  
"And should these writing be heard by one who is a servent of the Dark Lord, know that all in his presence shall die within thirteen days…"  
  
"Nonsense! Corporal, knock down that wall, we are going to prove this wine- making Frenchman wrong!"  
  
The two soldiers looked behind them, picking up a satchel of explosives. One of the soldiers set the timer.  
  
"The explosives are set to detonate in less than a minute! We must get out of here!" He said, throwing the satchel at the wall and running down the corridor, disappearing into the mist.  
  
Within seconds, a scream was heard, in the direction of the German Corporal.  
  
"What have you done? What have you done?" Panted Heinrich, running away, down the corridor.  
  
"No! You must not let it loose!" LaRouches sceams were interrupted by the explosion, that killed him instantly. Only the other soldier was still alive to see the sight that should never be seen.  
  
Only he saw the cycloptic monstrosity, only he could see how it was dark as night, darker than the souls of his superior officers. Only he saw how its form seemed to be made of no metal or flesh, but of time itself. And only he saw the machine slow down time itself as it lunged for his throat, tearing it out.  
  
With the lone survivor dead, and the other destined to die within two weeks, the Shrike, imprisoned on the planet called Terra Firma for nearly fifteen hundred years, the only Shrike to know the location of the Ragnarok Stone, raised an arm in the air, forming a giant blade. The Shrike swung his blade, tearing a hole in time and space, and jumping into the black void, returning to its master.  
  
The prophecy had begun to unfold… 


	2. Episode One:Fury Part One:The Assassinat...

Episode One: Fury  
  
Part One: The Assination  
  
  
  
April 2nd, 2000  
  
Antimorph flagship Anubis  
  
DAVID  
  
I slept it off.  
  
I had drunk myself to shit after the battle with the Animorphs at the mall, amazed that I hadn't died of liquor poisoning. It had been a day, and I still hadn't come to grips with the fact that my protégé, my greatest ally, Lewis Sanders, had been killed in battle.  
  
I would have revenge.  
  
I pulled myself together, pulling on a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, and speaking on the intercom: "All Antimorphs to the bridge, important meeting. Five minutes."  
  
Five minutes later, we were all assembled on the bridge of the ship. My eyes wandered over them all.  
  
Aleks Stantford, a former street punk from downtown L.A., a mercenary for hire. Ruthless, determined, nefarious in his own mind. A true force to be reckoned with.  
  
Marc LaRouche, our pilot and computer tech. Very smart, a lonely boy who had joined us after we presented ourselves to him.  
  
Skorre Fett, an intelligent Hork-Bajir, rebellious and calculating. A great tactical mind, and cunning instincts made him a valuable ally.  
  
Sara Berenson, sister of the bitch, Rachel, my greatest foe. We had kidnapped her from her home and used her to lure the Animorphs to the mall. We had given her the morphing power, but she had yet to officially join our legion.  
  
Lastly, I saw the strangest of the crew, Ripper. No first name, no last name, only a demented persona and a damaged psyche, Ripper believed he was a servant of god, helping to destroy a plague of evil dogs on earth. Whatever had caused him to lose his memory, Ripper was now more beast than human. His hands were like scraggly claws, his teeth had been filed into sharp, wolf-like fangs, and his short form was skinny and corpse-like. Despite all this, he could jump far and was naturally very fast. In our last battle, he had killed more than a dozen Hork-Bajir, and wounded some of the Animorphs greatly, without aid from the rest of us.  
  
Still, Ripper was dangerous, and he had to be kept in check.  
  
I cleared my throat.  
  
"OK, we're all shocked about what happened last night. We fought hard, and we fought well. Still, we lost one of our own. Sanders was cruelly slain by Jake Berenson."  
  
I looked at Sara, she flinched.  
  
"Sanders was my second in command. Now that he has been murdered, I must appoint a new Lieutenant. Aleks, you are next in line. You are now second in command of the Antimorphs."  
  
A smile crept onto Alek's face.  
  
"Thank you, David."  
  
I looked at Sara.  
  
"Now, we have to explain ourselves to the newest member of our motley crew."  
  
"You don't have to explain anything. Sanders told me all about what you all are. You are the Antimorphs, you fight The Animorphs, human morphers infested by Yeerks. I know all about it. I know that my cousin was one. I know my sister is one. I know that the Yeerks killed my other sister and mother four months ago, when they infested Rachel. I know that I have to help you. And I will."  
  
Quite a speech. I must have taken a lot of guts for an eleven year old kid to say that.  
  
"Very well, Sara. You are one of us."  
  
"Now, we need to plot our course of action. There are three Animorphs left: Cassie Verenda, Rachel Berenson, and Aximili-Esgarrouth-Ithsill. We need to deal with this, soon. Any suggestions?"  
  
"Kill 'em," grunted Ripper, "Chew 'em up and spit 'em out."  
  
"No. Don't kill Cassie. We agreed to make her one of us. We cannot kill her."  
  
Shit. I had promised LaRouche that we would make Cassie an Antimorph. LaRouche, it turns out, once had a romance with her, and he didn't want to see her dead.  
  
"Fine. Verenda will not die. But as for Rachel and Ax, we need to execute them, soon. The Yeerks will soon be after all three of them, and we cant allow even one of them to fall into the hands of the Empire."  
  
"We should take the Andalite first," said Skorre, "He is physically the strongest."  
  
"Yeah, but strength isn't everything, Skorre," muttered Aleks, "As you so valiantly demonstrated the other night."  
  
"How dare you say that! I fought just as hard as you, or the others! And I may point out that you were the one with Sanders when he succumbed to his wounds. Why did he not morph out?"  
  
"I told you, he was unconscious, died almost as soon as I found him. There wasn't a thing I could do."  
  
"Yeah, you heard 'em, Carver, kid was dead. Dead like a dog. Dead like those other Carvers I killed, too. Even when they ran, just jumped up on the back and ripped 'em up…like dogs…he he he…" Ripper panted.  
  
"What's a Carver, Ripper?" Asked LaRouche.  
  
"What do you think a Carver is? Look at Skorre. He could carve a sword out of monkey shit."  
  
So, he had a name for Hork-Bajir now. How nice.  
  
"Alright, everyone. Let's take a while, think everything over."  
  
The crew began to depart for various sections of the ship, as Aleks left, I called him back.  
  
"Wait, Aleks. I have a special assignment for you."  
  
ALEKS  
  
David gave me the assignment.  
  
In secret. None of the others knew about it. He said I was just the kind of man he needed for this job.  
  
He was so right.  
  
He told me to go, in secret, to the home of Cassie Verenda, and kill anything that I found there.  
  
I took a Bug Fighter down to the surface, landed it in the woods, grabbed a sawed-off shotgun from the armory, and went through the woods in the direction of the farm.  
  
It was raining as I approached the farmhouse. Rain fell through the trees like bullets, the ground covered in mud. I loaded the shotgun with two shells, and, standing in the dim evening light, cocked it.  
  
KA-CHINK!  
  
I walked towards the house.  
  
CASSIE  
  
My family and I were sitting down to dinner, though I was feeling apprehensive about it. I shouldn't be here, I thought, I should be with the others, waiting for the Antimorphs counterattack.  
  
It had been little over a day since the battle at the mall. Marco…funny Marco…killed by the soldier named Sanders, who had in turn been killed by Jake. Then…Jake was killed by David, attacked from behind as he tried to limp away from the battle.  
  
No one had told their families about it. Everyone had just assumed that they had run off somewhere, maybe gone camping or fishing, as they had done before we had all become Animorphs.  
  
But now it was late. They would have been home by now. Oh God, my heart ached just thinking about them. They were dead, just like Tobais. And now only Rachel, Ax and I stood against both the Yeerks and the Antimorphs fury.  
  
"Cassie? What's wrong?" asked my father, with a puzzled expression on his face, "you haven't touched your salad."  
  
"And I spent all day making it, too." My mother sighed, "Italian dressing and organically grown chicken aren't cheap or easy to make."  
  
"I'm sorry, mom. I'm just worried about Jake. He's been missing all day. Marco too. I'm worried that something has happened to them."  
  
"Oh, Cassie. Don't be ridiculous. Boy run off sometimes. I've seen Jake and Marco, they look just like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. They'll be back tomorrow, don't worry about them. Boys will be boys."  
  
I didn't find comfort in my mothers words. I knew it wasn't true. Jake was gone…never to come back."  
  
"Don't worry, Cassie. Everything will be alright from now on."  
  
The words had barely left my fathers mouth when the door was kicked open, and a man with a sawed-off shotgun stood at the ready.  
  
He fired, causing my fathers head to explode.  
  
"NO!"  
  
I recognized him. It was Aleks, one of the Antimorphs, David's  
  
cronies.  
  
A sinister smile lit up his face. He took aim at my mother, hitting her in the chest.  
  
"MOM!"  
  
She was dead. No pulse.  
  
"Time to die, Cassie."  
  
He fired at my gut. I felt the shells flying through my lungs. I couldn't breathe.  
  
"Not dead yet? Don't worry, you will be."  
  
I looked at him.  
  
"Why…" I gasped, "Why my parents…why?"  
  
"Simple. LaRouche suggested it all. He wanted to see you dead very badly, your family too. He thinks you betrayed him. I cant say I don't blame him."  
  
"No…Marc wouldn't do that…"  
  
"I'm afraid he did, Cassie. He gave David the idea. I carried it out. Don't hate me, kid, I'm just the messenger."  
  
Aleks raised the shotgun to my face, cocking it. I saw his finger tighten around the trigger. My eyes went wide. I was terrified beyond beleife. How could Marc have done this? Why would he order his friends to kill me?  
  
But there was no time to think about that.  
  
Aleks pulled the trigger, and I died. 


	3. Part Two:Death From Above

1 Episode One: Fury  
  
Part Two: Death From Above  
  
  
  
Antimorph Flagship, Anubis, twelve hours after the "assignment."  
  
RIPPER  
  
Aleks came back to the ship, flying one of the fighters right in and acting like nothing had happened.  
  
Who cared. He had a job-and so did I. My job was to aid my master, David Taggart, in his revenge against the dogs who had enslaved and tried to kill him.  
  
Speaking of which, I should probably go to see him soon, help plot our next course of action.  
  
I entered David's chamber, in the Visser's quarters, and gave my suggestions.  
  
Knock knock.  
  
"Who is it?"  
  
"It's Ripper."  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"I have ideas."  
  
A pause.  
  
"Come in."  
  
I opened the door, and it slid open with a loud hiss.  
  
David sat in a chair, smoking a cigarette and drinking a bottle of Jack Daniels.  
  
"I know how we can hurt the dogs, hurt 'em hard. So hard they won't be getting' back up again."  
  
David looked at me dubiously. "How can we do that? There are still Animorphs out there. They are priority."  
  
I smiled, "Yeah, but they have friends. Lots of friends. Why don't we take them out?"  
  
"This is true, the Animorphs have many allies. The Hork-Bajir, the Chee, more… but we can't possibly…"  
  
He trailed off. He got the idea.  
  
"Ripper, are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting?"  
  
"Yeah. Let's kill 'em. Kill all the Carvers. Go to their valley and roast 'em like dogs."  
  
He stood up, dropping his cigarette on the ground. His bottle of alcohol breaking on the floor.  
  
"We will do it, but keep it a secret. Don't tell anyone, except Aleks. He will help us. But make damn sure that LaRouche, Skorre and Sara don't find anything out. I don't think they would go along with it."  
  
"Will do, boss."  
  
I left the chamber, happy with my accomplishments.  
  
DAVID  
  
We would do it. We would blast the Hork-Bajir valley from the face of the earth. It is likely that the Animorphs would call on them for aid, and the Yeerks could not be allowed to re-possess almost two thousand Hork-Bajir.  
  
They would be exterminated.  
  
Skorre would never go along with it. He wouldn't see his people enslaved, or exterminated. LaRouche neither. I doubt Sara would help…  
  
Still, there was a way. Skorre would help if he thought they were infested. If the thought that the Yeerks had the valley… he would do whatever I would tell him to do.  
  
I approached him as he sat in the armory with Aleks and LaRouche, mulling over some AK-47 assault rifles. Aleks was explaining how to clean them.  
  
"OK, they hold 40 rounds each, you need to make sure the shaft is loaded, click the gauge in…no, LaRouche! Not like that! You probably just fuckin' ruined it, you dumb little shithead! You cant just ram the cartridge in there, how dumb are you? You think David pulls these things out of his ASS?! He had to rip 'em off a gunshop with me, before we found Ripper! Stupid little son of a…"  
  
He cut off when I entered the room.  
  
"Hey Dave," Said LaRouche nonchalantly.  
  
"We have a meeting. Ten minutes, on the bridge. Things have gone from bad to worse."  
  
Ten minutes later, the six of us where seated in various locations of the bridge, LaRouche keeping us on check ask we flew around the arctic circle, oblivious to any radar.  
  
"So what's this bad news?" Asked Sara.  
  
"The bad news is that the free Hork-Bajir have been found by the Yeerks."  
  
Everyone except Aleks and Ripper gasped. I think that maybe Ripper had told him, but then again, why would this hardened mercenary give a damn about them anyway?  
  
"I think that its no secret that the Yeerks are planning a major ground war. By engaging the cops the other night and losing two Bug Fighters, they seem to be getting very aggressive, and what better way to fight then if you have a large group of warriors already on the ground? They may even be building Yeerk pools under the valley. Those Hork-Bajir are lost, and we can't allow those soldiers to be let loose. There are almost two thousand of them, and they could easily take most of 'Jersey to the Yeerk side."  
  
The crew was stunned.  
  
"My people…,my people wouldn't give up without a fight…they would have fought well…" mused Skorre, absently.  
  
He looked at me with eyes, older than they should be, "What do we do, David?"  
  
"Complete sterilization. Destroy the valley, and everything that moves."  
  
LaROUCHE  
  
We flew ourselves out, over the valley, and I set the ship to hang over it in a fixed position. Below, I could see hundreds of Hork-Bajr mulling about, eating bark, climbing tree's, and walking around.  
  
In the bay below, Aleks and Ripper were in the fighters, getting ready for launch.  
  
"De-Cloak."  
  
I cut power to the cloaking generator. Suddenly, hundreds of Hork-Bajir were running for the edges of the valley. Scared shitless.  
  
"Skorre, LaRouche, open fire. Deploy fighters."  
  
"David, why would infested Hork-Bajir run for cover? And why aren't they firing back? Something is fishy about this." I said.  
  
"Do I have to draw a picture for you, LaRouche? Open fire! Kill them! Kill them all!"  
  
He had spirals of madness in his eyes, gleeful for a kill.  
  
I reluctantly pressed the bay doors button, and two Bug Fighters flew out the bottom of our ship.  
  
Aleks and Ripper began firing on the valley floor, picking off helpless Hork-Bajir. I looked to the monitors showing Skorre and David firing the heavy Dracon cannons, David seeming to have more fun than ever before, Skorre looking sad. I too, was picking off targets, reluctantly, firing the frontal beams. Sara was helping to drop small scale concussion missiles on the ground, knocking out hundreds of them.  
  
Suddenly, Rippers' fighter began moving too close to the ground, and a Hork- Bajir was impaled on one of the Dracon cannons.  
  
What a terrible way to die.  
  
Less than five moments later, we could scarcely pick off one target on the ground.  
  
We had defeated two thousand defenceless creatures, while we sat comfortably in our ships, picking them off like mice.  
  
Controllers or not, I was disgusted with myself. I think Skorre and Sara felt the same way.  
  
"Get back to the ship, guys. We're finished here."  
  
Aleks and Ripper landed back in the bay, joining me on the bridge soon after.  
  
"Did you see how we roasted 'em? Got 'em good, we did. Got 'em like little bitches. Cooked them alive in Dracon fire. A good way for a dog to die." Said Ripper passionately.  
  
"Good job, guys. We fought well." Said Aleks.  
  
"Alright, I'll take us into orbit." I said.  
  
"Very well."  
  
All of a sudden, a face filled the monitor.  
  
The face of Rachel Berenson.  
  
  
  
"Holy shit!" Said David.  
  
"No fuckin' way!" Said Aleks.  
  
"Oh, yes way, Aleksander Stantford. I have aquired this body, and recently been promoted to the rank of Sub-Visser four, quite a ways up from Sub- Visser 962, I believe."  
  
"So, Yeerk. What is your name?" Asked Skorre, standing tall on his feet, blades ready for trouble.  
  
The Yeerk laughed. "My name is Efflit 1318 of the Sulp Niar pool, spawn of Crunaw 823, Under-Visser fourteen, and Lietenant to Visser Six, Illim 5599, Lieutenant to the prestigious-"  
  
"Shut up, Yeerk. We didn't ask o know that much," Spat Sara, "a Yeerk is a Yeerk."  
  
How true! We are all Yeerks, though some are better off than others.  
  
A new face filled the screen. The face of the Andalite, Aximili.  
  
"You!" spat David.  
  
No need to ask my name, Taggart. We have met before. I am Nodnarb 395, Captain of the Yeerk pool ship above this planet. I was once Sub-Visser 171. I am now Sub-Visser 8.  
  
"Hey! Why is an Andalite controller lower ranking than a human controller, even if it can morph? And you had a lower rank before, and were a pool ship captain! What gives?" I asked.  
  
Foolish human. I opted for the Andalite body in lieu of higher promotion. Sub-Visser four was Lieutenant to Visser three, second in command of the invasion. Though my rank and positon was higher, he had superiority over I.  
  
Makes sense.  
  
Sub Visser four took over.  
  
"We tracked your Dracon flashes over this valley. Over a dozen Bug Fighters are on their way to apprehend you. Surrender now. You cannot escape."  
  
"Like shit we can't," Said David, "You want us? Come and get us."  
  
He seized the controls from my hand and punched in a maximum burn, rocketing us across the planet with more than a dozen Bug Fighters in close pursuit. 


	4. Part Three:Aces High

1 Episode One: Fury  
  
Part Three: Aces High  
  
  
  
Antimorph Flagship, Anubis, somewhere over middle America…  
  
SKORRE  
  
We rocketed across the continent faster than any ship on this planet had gone before. We flew close to the ground, with a dozen Yeerk Bug fighters on our tail.  
  
"Aleks, Ripper, Skorre! Get to the turrets! Make them eat flack!"  
  
LaRouche and David worked feverishly at the controls, moving the ship across a city. I guessed we were over Pennsylvania.  
  
"Fuck! Their jamming the trackers! We cant lock on!" Screamed Aleks, shooting blindly behind him.  
  
"HA HA! I got one! I got a fucker!" Screamed Ripper, the recoil from the turrets juttering him around.  
  
"Go to Hell, Yeerk Scum! I shot out, as I let loose a flurry of Dracon beams, each powerful enough to destroy a house.  
  
Sara worked on the sensor screens, telling us where the ships were.  
  
"Right behind us! Ripper, he's in your sights! No, Aleks! Your shooting blanks! No!"  
  
"Fuck this!" Yelled David, "Fuck all this! They are going to die! Cloak, I modified the ship since I got it, we can fire when cloaked, we…"  
  
He was cut off by an explosion.  
  
"Shit! We've been hit!" Said LaRouche, "I'm putting out the fire now, but we need to land!"  
  
I looked down at the tree's, cities and landscapes going by in a blur. A desert! We were over the Mojave, the city of Vegas shooting past in radiant Neon. It was getting darker. We were entering a different time zone.  
  
"Shit, shit, shit, shit! I cant get his ass!" Said Aleks, feverishly letting loose Dracon shots.  
  
I closed my eyes and let loose a flurry, my massive fingers pressing on the triggers for nearly a minute.  
  
I had destroyed six bug fighters.  
  
"Holy shit! You took down six!" Confirmed Ripper, " Only five more!"  
  
"We need to land," Reminded LaRouche.  
  
"I know! We cant, though, unless we want to die!"  
  
"I got one more!" Said Aleks.  
  
Four more.  
  
An ocean! The pacific loomed in all directions, the biggest body of water on the planet.  
  
The communications screen came to life as the face of Sub-Visser Eight filled the screen with an Andalite sneer.  
  
Had enough, Taggart? You should know that you stand no chance of escape. Soon, there will be no lace for your band of terrorists to hide. We are assuming offensive operations on this planet, in a month it will be ours!  
  
"Never, Yeerk!" I said, taking our another Bug fighter.  
  
"I'll see you dead, Nodnarb 395, you vile slug!" David ranted, " I'll kill you all for what you've done to me! For destroying my family, for killing my son, for ruining my life! You will DIE, if my name is not David Taggart!"  
  
Your name was once David Hunting, the Sub-Visser pointed out.  
  
"That part of my life is dead, now, Yeerk."  
  
It would seem that your whole life is gone, Taggart.  
  
"Even if all my bones are broken, I will drag myself back from death to have my revenge, Yeerk. You cannot kill what is not human!"  
  
We shall see, Taggart.  
  
The monitor shut down, the Sub-Visser's face vanishing.  
  
"Destroy them all!" David roared.  
  
"No SHIT!" Exclaimed Aleks, "Dumbass!"  
  
If David noticed this insubordination, he did not show it. He was headed to the torpedo tubes.  
  
I could see the island of Japan moving closer. Soon, we flew over it, the four fighters still on our tail.  
  
BLAM!  
  
We took another hit! The lights flashing, sparks wailing and Klaxons blaring.  
  
FUCK!  
  
  
  
"It's getting hard to control the ship!" Said LaRouche, panicking from behind the controls, "We need to finish them off!"  
  
"We are entering Chinese airspace…" Pointed out Sara.  
  
"So-fucking-what?" Asked Aleks, as Dracon beams danced all around us.  
  
"Those fighters aren't cloaked, and who besides the U.S. is better prepared for an air raid?"  
  
"The Chineese will gun them down!" Said Ripper.  
  
"Let us just hope that they don't shoot down us," I finished.  
  
No one spoke, but there was no silence. The cannons power level was diminishing rapidly. We couldn't go on for much longer.  
  
KA-BOOM!  
  
A missile had hit a bug fighter, tearing it from the sky! The Chinese had shot it down!  
  
"Yippe-kay-yay, MOTHERFUCKER!" Came Alek's battle cry.  
  
"Die, motherfucker, die motherfucker, DIE!" Panted Ripper, sweat pouring off his brow.  
  
"Three more!" I reminded, "Let's finish them off!"  
  
I fired at a Bug fighter, narrowly missing.  
  
"Damnation!"  
  
"Die!"  
  
Missed again.  
  
"Oh, Bull fuck!"  
  
A hit!  
  
The fighter exploded in a streaking blaze, soon vanishing from the sky.  
  
We were somewhere over the Gobi deserts in eastern china, a blasted waste of sand, cliffs, mountains and rock. And military bases.  
  
I could hear the sounds of the guns firing flack from the ground on the sensors, aiming for one of the bug fighters.  
  
Amazingly, there was a hit!  
  
"Take that, BITCH!" Screamed Ripper.  
  
"Glory, Hallelujah."  
  
Sara.  
  
Aleks slowly turned around, looking at the child.  
  
"You don't really think that God can help you, do you? What kind of God would allow a world like this, or people like us?"  
  
Sara was stunned, turning back to read the sensors, as Aleks took aim to dust off the last Bug Fighter.  
  
We were out of china by now, flying very low. Our generators and engines near the breaking point.  
  
Aleks took aim at the last fighter, swaying cockily before us.  
  
"Soyanara, Sucker."  
  
He let loose a fury of beams, completely wasting the fighter.  
  
"We did it!" LaRouche screamed happily.  
  
"Damn! The torpedo tubes aren't loaded. Good thing we never needed them."  
  
"In this state, we are very vulnerable," I pointed out.  
  
"Oh, swollow your pride, Skorr! We won, and it was a big victory! Be happy, we got out alive!" Said Aleks.  
  
I wouldn't be so sure, Antimorphs!  
  
Oh, Shit.  
  
ALEKS  
  
A ship appeared before us, hovering four hundred feet with us above the desert sands. We circled each other, like two wolves circling prey.  
  
The ship was shaped like an ancient human trident, three long prongs at the back, a long, smooth shaft connecting a flat bridge-like area. What the hell was it?  
  
"What. The. Fuck. Is. That?" I slowly asked.  
  
"The computer is showing it as a Sub-Vissers Lancer battlehip. I guess it's a Blade ship, but for Sub-Vissers. 'Comp says it's good for escorts and fighting. A few of them can take down a dome Ship!" Explained LaRouche.  
  
"Great. Where do we aim?" Asked David.  
  
"Uh, the prongs at the back. Those are the engines."  
  
"David? We have a very big problem," I cautiously said.  
  
"What a surprise. More problems. How serious is this one, Skorre?" David asked.  
  
"Very. The battery is nearly dead. No juice for Dracons. It will take days to re-charge!"  
  
"Shit."  
  
"DAMN!" Screamed Ripper.  
  
"NO FUCKING WAY! WE WILL NOT LOSE HERE!"  
  
Geez, he could really get emotional.  
  
Oh, but I think you will, said Sub-Visser Eight, appearing again on the monitor, This Lancer ship can effectively destroy your weakened Blade Ship, however modified it may be. This is the end, Antimorphs.  
  
Oh, crap.  
  
Lieutenant? Open fire.  
  
Suddenly, a miracle!  
  
From nowhere, on the ground, a dozen humans stood up, emerging from perfect camoflauge. In their hands, most held giant rocket launchers.  
  
They opened fire. 


	5. Part Four:Unholy Alliance

1 [Author's note: This chapter deals with issues of a sensitive nature, including terrorism, Islamic issues, war in central asia, and anti- American/imperialist ideology. I am very much opposed to terrorism, and do not condone the acts of any terrorist group, no matter what the cause. If you are offended by these issues, please read not further.]  
  
2  
  
3 Episode One: Fury  
  
Part Four: Unholy Alliance  
  
April third, 2000, The Gobi Desert, Somewhere over Central Asia…  
  
DAVID  
  
The men on the ground opened fire on the Lancer, twelve stinger surface-to- air missiles striking its blindsides.  
  
ARGHH! Screamed the Sub-Visser, Damage report! Now!  
  
"Sir, the humans have struck our engines! Reactors one and two are out, three is operating at 32 %, shields are down, armour plating weakened at 82 % , Dracon Reactors all down, Z-space drive operating at 12 %, three fires throughout the ship and…" The unseen Lieutenant barked off a list of technological speculations, but was cut off.  
  
"Having some engine troubles, Sub-Visser? Maybe I should have brought my jumper cables." I mocked.  
  
Enough of your gloating Taggart. I will destroy your band of Terrorists soon enough.  
  
"My men are soldiers, not Terrorists."  
  
The company we keep tells the universe who we are, Taggart. You are a terrorists, you keep terrorists. Pirates and Terrorists look after their own.  
  
How forboding.  
  
"Sub-Visser! The humans on the ground are preparing to fire again!"  
  
Get us back to the pool ship. We can deal with this problem later.  
  
Slowly, Sub-Visser eight's Lancer Battleship limped off into the sky, licking its wounds.  
  
"Take us down," I said to LaRouche, "We need to find out who our rescuers are."  
  
"I do not like the feel of this," Said Skorre, an air of caution in his voice.  
  
"Shut up, you damn Carver! Is there anything you do like?" Asked Ripper.  
  
"I know enough about this planet to know that this region is extremely unstable. It is war torn and controlled by hundreds of individual Warlords, each vying for power. Those people on the ground could turn on us at any moment. We need to be careful."  
  
"That is true, Skorre," I said, "We will land to make prepares and meet the soldiers on the ground, but we will proceed with caution."  
  
"I'm landing down for repairs. We can get back to systems at 100% in two days," Reported LaRouche.  
  
"Good."  
  
We landed on the desert floor, and immediately saw a dozen men approaching, clad in robes, some of them wearing turbans. Most carried AK-47 assault rifles.  
  
"This doesn't look good," Said Sara, piping up for the first time since the end of the chase.  
  
"Nothing does, these days," Agreed Aleks.  
  
"Hey!" I yelled, walking down the exit ramp, "Do any one of you speak English?"  
  
The crowed was about thirty meters away, moving in fast.  
  
"Weapon's at the ready," Said Aleks, "Get ready for a firefight."  
  
I saw his hand moving around his Dracon Pistol, in his back pocket. Ripper did the same for the Thompson SMG he held, Skorre flexing his muscles, ready for a fight.  
  
Sara looked very nervous. She had no weapons, no training and no morphs.  
  
LaRouche looked cool as a cucumber.  
  
The twelve men stood eight feet away from us now, and one man, tall and skinny, with a long grey beard, stepped out front.  
  
"Do you speak English?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"I am Usama Bin Laden, leader of the Al Qaeda group, enemy of all imperialists and infidels. Welcome to this Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan."  
  
  
  
ALEKS  
  
"I am David Taggart, Leader of the Antimorphs, Captain of the Antimorph Fleet Vessel Anubis, sworn enemy of the Yeerk Empire, Animorphs, and Andalites," Said David, "These are my followers, we are glad to make your aquaintance, Mr. Bin Laden."  
  
Just who the hell was this guy? Was he our friend or our enemy?  
  
"You are American."  
  
"Once, but no longer. We are men of the stars, now."  
  
"I fight the empire of Jews and Crusaders, is this empire of Yeerks the same?"  
  
"No, the Yeerks pose a greater threat to you than American ever could."  
  
"If you fight these Yeerks who endanger the lands of the Prophet, then you are our ally."  
  
I like that logic.  
  
"The Yeerks pose a threat to all on this world. If you can take us to your head quarters, we can explain further."  
  
The Arabic man shook David's hand, "I feel that I will enjoy this, David Taggart."  
  
"As do I."  
  
  
  
We boarded seven pick up trucks , loaded ourselves in the back, and drove for about an hour, till we saw a large campground, dotted with stone bunkers and buildings, perfectly built into the landscape. Hundreds and thousands of men fired rifles on firing ranges, threw grenades at targets on an empty field, or listened to older men and soldiers talking.  
  
There were thousands of them.  
  
We got out of the truck and entered one of the bunkers, walking deep into the ground. Eventually, we ended up in a room with chairs and mattresses. Bin Laden was with us, along with a few of his original entourage.  
  
"Will you now tell us of these Yeerks?"  
  
"Yes, I will tell you all I know."  
  
And David told the Arab his story, the tale of the Yeerks and Andalites, who he was, and why we fight them.  
  
At the end, Bin Laden and his men were in shock.  
  
"So, the Yeerks are a threat to us all. They would destroy all we hold holy and true in the Koran, they would disregard Allah and his prophet. They are a much more dangerous enemy than the Crusaders."  
  
"Yes. We are the Antimorphs. We seek to stop the Yeerks as they prepare to take this planet. Will you aid us, Al Qaeda? You would make powerful allies."  
  
The tall Arab looked quizzically upon us.  
  
  
  
"You are not of Islam. You follow no god, Antimorphs, yet you oppose evil, you aid truth and justice. You are very strange."  
  
"Yeah, I guess we are, aren't we?" Asked Sara.  
  
"Even stranger to allow a woman in battle."  
  
"She isn't one of us. She's the blood of a bitch-ass dog. She's fodder. Expendable," said Ripper, looking upon Sara with distrust.  
  
"It is as your dream fortold, Usama," said one of Bin Laden's soldiers.  
  
"Yes," the man answered mysteriously, "My dream."  
  
"Wait a second, what dream?" I asked.  
  
"Six years, six months and days ago, I had a dream of a great Dark beast. The Dark Lord told me that though I had rebelled against him long ago, and that he had sent me to this world, I would forever serve him. He told me to watch for the one who comes in the Ax-Ship, for he is a servant of the Machine, and the Dark Lord. I must aid and protect him. He then showed me a place to be, a time to be there, and told me to be well prepared. Since then, I have pondered that dream every day."  
  
"Whoa, sounds creepy," said LaRouche.  
  
"Yes. Very much so. He said that there would be six of them. A beast man, a mercenary, an innocent, a bladed beast, and the spawn of a philosopher, from the land of France. He said, the leader would bear the number of the days on his side that would pass before I would meet them."  
  
"Number? I don't have any number, except this."  
  
David stood up, pulling up his shirt. On his kidney, was a serial number.  
  
DAVID FOUR, B.H., SERIES 652, MODEL 13  
  
"David, what is the meaning of that? 652 and 13?" Asked Skorre.  
  
"Holy shit…" exclaimed LaRouche.  
  
"Oh, man…" I said.  
  
Ripper let loose a hiss.  
  
"David, 652 and 13, they add up to six hundred sixty six." Said Sara.  
  
"That is the number, six years, six months, six days…" Said a man in the corner.  
  
"I do not understand," Said Skorre.  
  
"Simple, Skorre, 666 is a very important number to many religions. A lot of them agree that the being that will destroy everything, the entire universe, will have that number on him somewhere." I said, remembering church from when I was very young. Before The Rampage.  
  
"Yes, but they all believe that his followers will bear the mark also. David cannot be the Antichrist." Said Ripper.  
  
"How would you know?" Asked Bin Laden.  
  
"I serve God. I eliminate Satan's foul Dog minions on earth."  
  
"Hmm. You are truly, a beast man, Ripper."  
  
"Thanks." Ripper smiled, showing off his filed teeth.  
  
"And now it seems that it is all true, for these are the six that you dreamt of." Said a soldier.  
  
"Yes. It is as the Dark Lord fortold."  
  
"But still, who is this Dark Lord? And what does this all add up to?" I asked.  
  
"There are some things that no man was meant to know." The response came from an unlikely source: Ripper.  
  
"'More things in heaven and earth than could be possibly dreamt of in your philosophy, Horatio," said LaRouche, eerily distant.  
  
"We will help you, Antimorphs. We had been planning to strike at the Great Satan within the next year, but we will aid you against these Yeerks."  
  
"It is a deal, Usama. It is a deal. How will you help us?'  
  
"We have many weapons. We know that God is on our side, and that is the greatest weapon of all."  
  
"This is the alliance that could save the world." Said Ripper.  
  
But as I walked away, after Bin Laden and David, I heard LaRouche say, "Or destroy it." 


	6. Part Five:Dread And The Fugitive Mind

1 Episode One: Fury  
  
Part Two: Dread And The Fugitive Mind  
  
April fifth, 2000, Kandahar, Afghanistan  
  
LaROUCHE  
  
We took three days to fully repair the ship, with some help from Bin Laden's men. The engines and Dracon generators recharged fully on their own, but we had to repair the armour plating heavily.  
  
It wasn't too hard, and the Al Qaeda even gave us new weapons: Ak-47's, Stinger missiles, all kinds of pistols and machine guns. Grenades, high explosives.  
  
Still, I didn't trust them. Neither did Skorre. Sara just hung around me mostly. She had aquired Skorre, as her combat morph, till she could find something better. She was in sore need of morphs, but no one was really willing to help her out. She hung around with me mostly, helping to fix the ship, learning the language of the Yeerk Empire, and interstellar commerce, Galard, and learning parts of the ship.  
  
David and Aleks spent their days in with the Al Qaeda, plotting against the Yeerks. Things had gone from bad, to worse. On the radio, we heard news of Yeerk land invasions all across North America and Europe. Washington, New York and L.A. were smoldering holes in the ground. Boston was a war zone. Scores of marines and soldiers were fleeing into Canada, seeking safety, only to find thousands of Hork-Bajir waiting for them. In Europe, Engand had been devastated, along with France, after they tried to nuke the pool ship. China had been invaded by land last night. A quarter of her population was lost.  
  
We knew the two largest pools on the planet: Berlin and Tokyo. Berlin fed most of continental Europe, via a system of monorails. Tokyo was connected by rail to China, Korea, and southeast Asia.  
  
If we took out those pools, millions of Yeerks would die.  
  
I told Aleks this, he took the credit when he told David.  
  
Usama pledged hundreds of his men to our cause, and would aid us personally.  
  
We would use heavy explosives to destroy first Berlin, then Tokyo. The buck stops here. Those two pools are two important to be left standing.  
  
RIPPER  
  
I kept to myself, mostly. I stayed in my chambers, practising for combat, eating raw meat, the only proper way to eat it.  
  
Aleks told us of his plan to wipe out the Berlin pool and the Tokyo pool. His methods were simple: Hijack a train, fill it to the rim with explosives, send it crashing into the pool. Only one problem-Someone had to be less than a klick away to set the detonator off. The only transmitters the Arabs had were weak, and our were incompatable with the human bombs.  
  
  
  
Someone would have to go in low, in one of the fighters, hover a kilometre over the pool, and wait till the train reached its target. It was risky. That's why I volunteered. The Yeerks were launching attacks on every major city on earth. Sub-Visser's four and eight weren't going to waist time. Intercepted communiqués revealed that Visser one was returning to earth, and that no one wanted earth to be a factor anymore. Efflit 1318 would take earth within a month.  
  
We also had a time limit. Yeerk troops were moving on Berlin, but one a few of them were stationed there. Human soldiers and militia were putting in strong resistance, sniping at Hork-Bajir from office buildings.  
  
We would commence the attack on Berlin tomorrow morning.  
  
DAVID  
  
Our crowded Blade Ship flew high in the skies over Berlin the next morning, filled to the brim with Al Qaeda. They would go in with Aleks and Skorre, take a monorail, fill it with the bombs. A few soldiers would stay in the train to make sure the bombs went off.  
  
It was, essentially, a suicide mission.  
  
Fuckin' A.  
  
"Aleks, commence the drop."  
  
"Yeah, let's go!"  
  
Aleks and Skorre's Bug Fighter, filled with Al Qaeda troopers, dropped from the belly of the ship. At least fifty of them were crowded into the fighter, less than the length of a school bus.  
  
"Ripper, get out and provide cover."  
  
"I'm on it."  
  
Ripper followed.  
  
All up to them, now.  
  
ALEKS  
  
Skorre piloted us down to the surface of Berlin, still cloaked.  
  
"Alright, time to go, boys," I said, filled with glee.  
  
The hatch opened, and the fifty four of us, rapidly jumped out, all heavily armed. We made for the subway, or as the Germans call it, the "Metro."  
  
"Go, go, go!" I yelled.  
  
The Arabs all held AK's, Skorre held a heavy Dracon pisole, so that he could use his blades. I was carrying a massive heavy Dracon Cannon, very strong.  
  
Like a horde of demons, we shot down the stairs.  
  
An astonished human saw us.  
  
"Antimorphs!"  
  
"Damn straight! Now you die!" I yelled, "Shoot him! Attack!"  
  
The controller was cut down in a hail of gunfire.  
  
  
  
"Het gafash nur!"  
  
Hork-Bajir! Twenty of them, and another ten or so humans with sub machine guns!  
  
"Open fire!"  
  
KATAKATAKATAKATA!  
  
Machine gun bullets filled the room as a Hork-Bajir took one between the eyes, Skorre took down a human, but took a slug to the chest.  
  
"ARGHH!"  
  
I looked around as I took down a Hork-Bajir, seeing ten felled Al Qaeda. Three falled Hork-Bajr, eight or nine humans, dead.  
  
"Die, you motherfuckers!"  
  
"AHHH!"  
  
I looked to the side, seeing a soldier get his throat cut by a wrist blade.  
  
A burley Hork-Bajir charged for an Arab standing next to me, impaling him on his horns.  
  
I stuck my rifle in his gut.  
  
"EAT THIS!"  
  
The beam went through, killing him instantly.  
  
By now, all the human-controllers had been cut down by our gunfire, but fifteen or so Hork-Bajir still attacked our forces, who tried their best to knock them down.  
  
BLAM BLAM!  
  
An Al Qaeda trooper whose AK-47 had dried out was shooting the Hork-Bajr with a DD44 Dostovei. He fired two shots, killing a Hork-Bajir warrior, but was taken from behind by another.  
  
I saw Skorre, fighting his own kind, slitting their throats, impating them with his horns, swinging his tail madly, shooting his pistol off.  
  
He had killed at least five of his own kind.  
  
  
  
Nine Hork-Bajir were left now, slashing furiously with their blades.  
  
"Don't give up, we almost got 'em beat!" I yelled.  
  
TATATATATAT!  
  
"Furmunal Daglashna Hur!" Screamed a Hork-Bajir as an Al Qaeda emptied his AK into him.  
  
Time to get desperate.  
  
I switched my rifle to rapid fire mode, spraying the room with Dracon beams, striking seven Hork-Bajir, and a dozen of our people. Skorre and the last Hork-Bajir were left standing.  
  
"You think you will win?" The Controller asked.  
  
"We always win."  
  
I shot his head clean off.  
  
It was over.  
  
"Take the train. Load the bombs onto it. Lets get this show on the roll."  
  
"Yes, sir!" Said an Arab.  
  
There were less than twenty of us left. Dead bodies filled the room, spent ammo casing's everywhere.  
  
We stood knee deep in the dead.  
  
RIPPER  
  
I hovered above the city of Berlin, hearing the gunfire and out of control fires raging around the city.  
  
Music to my ears.  
  
Suddenly, a crackle in my radio!  
  
"Ripper, get your ass ready, we just sent the train towards the pool, it will be there any second, the men on board will radio us when they reach ground zero!"  
  
I saw Alek's fighter moving back to the Anubis.  
  
"Yeah, I got it Aleks. I got 'cha."  
  
"Don't fuck this up."  
  
CLICK  
  
He hung up his end.  
  
"I got your dumb ass rank right here, stupid dog-ass gangster. Air commander and second in command my ass."  
  
Again, the radio sprang to life.  
  
"Ripper, this is it! They've breached the Yeerk Pool! Set it off ! Set it off!"  
  
"With pleasure."  
  
I took my fighter up one kilometre, and set the communicator to all channels. The Yeerks, humans, everyone would hear me.  
  
"Ladies and 'gents, welcome to my nightmare!"  
  
I paused, my fingers above the red button in my hand.  
  
"LETS BURN THIS MOTHERFUCKER DOWN!!!"  
  
SARA  
  
KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM! !!!  
  
Even from a few miles up, the flash was disorienting, as the streets below us exploded, concrete and steel pushing upwards, building's bursting into flames.  
  
Thick lines of fire sprung up all over the place, the tunnels connected to the pool exploding. As far as the eye could see, the ground caught fire.  
  
"Ripper! How much explosives were on that train?" Asked David, into the microphone.  
  
  
  
"Yee-haw! Did you see that?! Sausage chompin' Yeerks took it up the ass right there…"  
  
"Answer the question!"  
  
"That was a .76 megaton blast. Exactly 602.92 lbs of C4 and TNT. We wasted 'em right there, we did!"  
  
  
  
"Holy God…"  
  
"I see that we are victorious," Said Bin Laden, standing in the corner, flanked by his men.  
  
"Yes, we are victorious. The Yeerks have lost their greatest pool. We must now disable the second."  
  
"Aleks and Ripper's fighter's are back aboard, David," Reoported LaRouche.  
  
"Excellent. Set course for Tokyo, Japan. This war ends today!" 


	7. Part Six: Dark Force Rising

1 Episode One: Fury  
  
Part Six: Dark Force Rising  
  
SKORRE  
  
"You are insane!" Screamed Bin Laden, as LaRouche punched in a burn for Japan, "You have made your point. Many Yeerks were killed. Now you go again to their pool, to cause more devestation?"  
  
"Yes. I am in charge here, Bin Laden. You would do well to remind yourself that you are a guest on this ship."  
  
"Many of my men were lost under the command of your Lieutenant. I do not wish to see more Martyrs, dying for a worthless cause."  
  
"What? What's a worthless cause? What did you say?" Shot Ripper.  
  
"The Yeerks will have called all their troops down, by now. They will secure all pool entrances so highly that we will jot be able to pull that operation a second time," Said Aleks.  
  
"True," mulled David. We cannot pull that off again. Too risky. Still, Tokyo is a pressing target. We need to take out that pool."  
  
"There must be a way," said Bin Laden, "To do it, without losing to many men. We only have a hundred and thirty more. Every one is needed."  
  
"If you have such high concerns, why don't you make up a plan?" Asked Aleks.  
  
"No need to. David is in charge here."  
  
As a human would say: BURN!!!  
  
David was shocked. He didn't know what to say. Bin Laden was looking at him now, cagey and crafting.  
  
"Alright, let's discuss this amongst ourselves."  
  
Bin Laden nodded, and signalled his men to follow him. He walked to his quarters.  
  
Once they had left, David gathered us all around.  
  
"He is dangerous."  
  
"No shit!" Exclaimed Ripper.  
  
"What do you propose we do?" Asked LaRouche.  
  
"Yeah, it's not like we can just throw him out the airlock!" Said Sara.  
  
"In a sense, that might not be such a bad idea…" mused Aleks.  
  
"You aren't serious!" I said.  
  
"I am. We can't have someone else trying to take power from us. Besides, what are we going to do? Let them stay with us forever? We can't. We work alone. We need to keep our numbers lower than ten, or else some members might get ideas about a coup."  
  
"That may be a good idea…" I said, trailing, "We need to be thinking about us primarily."  
  
"Yeah, the dogs will be getting close to us. We should look out for number one," Said Ripper.  
  
"Hey, look at this," Said LaRouche from the consol, "This looks intresting."  
  
"What is it?" Asked David.  
  
"Sub-Visser 64 is here. On Earth. His Lancer was damaged when his task force engaged an Andalite fighter squadron in orbit of Styx, the waste planet. Andalites scavenging for parts, apparently."  
  
"So? How does this help us?"  
  
"His Lancer is putting in for repairs at the Tokyo pool. His First Mate strongly objected, but The Sub-Visser had him executed for incompetence. He's a real hard ass."  
  
It hit me like a bullet.  
  
"We can sabotage it," I said.  
  
"Yeah, if we can get in there, plant a virus on the computer, to fire all weapons while underground, we can take out the pool, easily," explained LaRouche.  
  
"We'll do it. And when I say that, I mean a team operation. None of Bin Laden's men."  
  
"Wow. Our first incognito mission," Said Sara.  
  
"You won't be coming. You have not training and no morphs. You stay on the ship," David said, " As for the rest of us, we'll use my z-space closet to transport equipment."  
  
"Sounds like a plan." I said.  
  
I didn't know how right I was.  
  
RIPPER  
  
We landed the ship outside city limits, flew in as Eagles, and morphed alternate human forms, aquired from various Al Qaeda members, most of whom were Arab or Asian. However, a few were European, so we incorporated them into our morphs. The result was an exotic and attractive mixture of human features.  
  
Not bad.  
  
We dressed and headed towards the pool entrance, a subway station bathroom.  
  
Gee, this looks only a bit odd, I said in thought speech, I see not one person who looks like us. Only Japanese.  
  
Yeah, I thought that, so I have an excuse for us, Said Aleks.  
  
Oh yeah? Whats this amazing excuse?  
  
We're repairmen.  
  
THAT'S YOUR EXCUSE???!!!  
  
Uh, yeah. That's about it.  
  
Hey, guy's? Do we even know what kind of host the Sub-Visser has? Maybe we can get him, too. Pondered LaRouche.  
  
I don't know. I must be something we haven't seen yet. Answered David.  
  
We walked closer to the pool entrance. Hork-Bajir were everywhere around the city, dragging humans, kicking and screaming, to the pool to be infested.  
  
"Galfashe! Kelmacht your rank?" Asked a burly Hork-Bajir who had stepped in front of us.  
  
David approached him.  
  
"I am Rannick 443 of the Sima Nar pool, Pentasera. This is my repair crew. We have been transported here from the pool ship to oversee the reconstruction of Sub-Visser 64's computer and life support systems."  
  
"I do not fumashe so! You klitnar no clearance."  
  
"Yes, in fact I do. I am Under-Visser 832."  
  
David then flashed an authentic looking Imperial Identification Card, stolen by me, from the body of one of the Hork-Bajr I killed at the mall.  
  
Now, if the Controller had checked out the card, he would have known that Under-Visser 832 had been dead for almost a week.  
  
But he didn't check anything out.  
  
"Adasha, Under-Visser! Let the commander pass!"  
  
We then walked from that point, not interfered with once.  
  
The five of us walked down the long flight of stairs, the stairs that seemed to go on forever.  
  
You'd think that the Yeerks could install an elevator, what with being a superior species and all, grumbled Aleks.  
  
Shut up, I said, sharply.  
  
This place reminded me of the past, when I escaped from Hell. The screams, the horned demons, that I now knew as Hork-Bajir, the immense heat…  
  
It's very hot in here, Observed Skorre. I do not remember it being this hot, from my time in slavery.  
  
Yeah, man. But it's a dry heat! Joked Aleks.  
  
We don't need this right now, snapped David, Stop fucking around.  
  
Yeah, I hear you, Said Aleks bitterly.  
  
Look, there's the landing bay! I said, seeing a long, flat underground plain, with a few scattered Bug Fighters and Yeerk transports. There, in the center, was a Lancer battleship.  
  
And a Blade Ship.  
  
Whoa, who's blade ship?  
  
"Hey," LaRouche asked a human Controller nearby, "I wasn't aware of a Blade Ship being here, who's is it?"  
  
The controller eyed us suspiciously, "Who do you think it would be? It's Visser 59. He's making a stop here, to supervise the takeover until Visser one arrives."  
  
The controller looked us over for a few seconds, then moved on.  
  
Hey, its Visser 59, we could take him out, gut him like a little bitch! I said to the group.  
  
If we take the pool out, everything will die. But still, we'll try and make sure he is inside when the Lancer starts firing. Said David.  
  
We quickly moved across the pool, and entered the repair area.  
  
We walked unopposed into the Lancer's section, the controllers already there saw us.  
  
"Oh, you must be the replacement shift. You might want to look after those targeting computers. There seems to be a glitch somewhere."  
  
"We'll take care of it," Said Skorre.  
  
Get to work, LaRouche.  
  
LaRouche moved into the shadows and opened up the Z-Space closet. He removed a Yeerk palm terminal, and accessed the ship's computers through the patch in.  
  
"Warning. Foreign data detected. Warning. Warning. Warning"  
  
A siren went off!  
  
"Shit!" I yelled.  
  
"Antimorphs!" Someone yelled.  
  
"De-morph! Combat! Let's go!" Screamed David, changing back to human.  
  
A group of Hork-Bajir approached me, slashing the air with their blades.  
  
"Let's get it on." 


	8. Part Seven:Sirex's Legacy

1 Episode One: Fury  
  
Part Seven: Sirex's Legacy  
  
  
  
ALEKS  
  
"Battle morphs! Now!"  
  
I was almost back to my human self, but the Hork-Bajir were charging like rabid elephants.  
  
I concentrated on the Polar Bear, and within thirty seconds, I was the lumbering power that was that beast.  
  
"HUWAAARRR!!!'  
  
I swung my fist at a Hork-Bajir, decapitating it.  
  
LaRouche, get that virus in, now!  
  
"I'm on it!"  
  
Take 'em down! Yelled David, as a Lion  
  
Ripper, come with me! Help me take those Hork-Bajir over here! I called.  
  
I got my hands full, with these Carver's over here!  
  
Damn!  
  
Die! I killed another two.  
  
Skorre was a lumbering elephant, crushing controllers all around him. David tore Hork-Bajir apart like a machine, but we were vastly outnumbered.  
  
TATATATATATATAT!  
  
Human-Controllers opened fire with machine guns.  
  
TSEEEW! TSEEEW!  
  
Dracon fire!  
  
We were screwed.  
  
"I need more time!" Called LaRouche.  
  
I got your back! said Ripper, backing his Hyena body to back on the working Frenchman.  
  
TSEEEW! I was hit! The Dracon ripped through my hip.  
  
Damn!  
  
"I got it!" Let's book it!"  
  
Fuckin' A!  
  
I do not think so, Antimorphs.  
  
A though speech voice! Not one of ours, but not Sub-Visser four or eight, either.  
  
I huge creature stepped into view. It was a beast from a nightmare.  
  
"Good God," Said David, "A Tiamat."  
  
DAVID  
  
I have only seen one Tiamat, on the pool ship. I aquired it, knowing that it could be useful in the future.  
  
I didn't know how right I was.  
  
The Tiamat were created by my former ally, Sirex 4841, Sub-Visser and scientist. A very powerful Sub-Visser, who's rank is now held by Nodnarb 395, Sub-Visser Eight.  
  
You see, Sirex is dead. I killed him after my successful cloning, by destroying his body and sending his essence into Z-Space.  
  
But I knew about his children…the Tiamat.  
  
They are an artificial race, very rare in the universe. Only three thousand or so in the entire galaxy, all bred for war in the swamps of Eastern Pentasera, Gervasid territory. You see, when the Yeerks invaded that planet about fifteen years ago, Sirex made an artificial race by adding the DNA of several different species together.  
  
He called them Tiamat-Yeerkish for "Vile," because they are truly worthy of that name.  
  
Imagine a tree, fifteen feet tall, five feet thick. Now take roots that are swatting tentacles, six likewise arm's on each hand, covered in poisonous spines, that can be projected about for up to a hundred yards, and a long, narrow head, with a vertical mouth that filled the whole head, inside, filled with dozens of sabred for teeth. A single eye above the mouth, inside a rotatable dome on the head, made it a monstrosity.  
  
What made the Tiamat really weird, though, was the fact that they were made entirely out of very thick wood.  
  
Yeah, that's right. Wood. But, with water pumping throughout to prevent fire. Very tough to beat.  
  
A Tiamat!  
  
Holy shit, that is one bad ass motherfucker! Yelled Ripper.  
  
Sub-Visser 64, I presume.  
  
You presume correctly. I am Vyant 008 of the Araniat Wuseem pool, Taxxis. You dare to approach my ship, much less destroy it? I will crush you!  
  
"I think not," I said, my human mouth returning.  
  
We shall see.  
  
He shot his needle-spines at me, barely missing, but hitting Skorre.  
  
"ARRGH!"  
  
I began to morph to Tiamat.  
  
LaROUCHE  
  
I watched as David turned from his normal, human self, into a gigantic, grotesque monster.  
  
"David, you need to hurry! The virus sets off the ships weapons in five minutes!"  
  
I got 'cha.  
  
  
  
David slammed his gigantic form into Sub-Visser 64, wrapping his tentacles around him in a hideous bear hug.  
  
When I break every bone in your body, foolish human, I will be a Visser! I will be a hero to the Empire! I will…  
  
He was cut off when a salvo of spines from David tore into him.  
  
AARGH  
  
"That's how I feel," grumbled Skorre.  
  
I looked at Skorre, the venom had made him sluggish, slow. He was struggling to stay awake.  
  
David grappled the Sub-Visser, throwing punch after punch at him, tearing out the bark that was the Tiamat's skin.  
  
But Sub-Visser 64 had a few tricks up his sleeve.  
  
The Tiamat opened it's mouth around David's thin head, closing, picking up our leader and spinning his 15 foot form all about.  
  
AHHH!  
  
Now, we see who is the better warrior, Taggart!  
  
You forget one thing, Sub-Visser 64.  
  
And what is that?  
  
Don't leave your head un-guarded. Ever.  
  
Without warning, David struck both his hands up, pressed them to his adversaries skull, and fired spine after spine into it.  
  
THUNK THUNK THUNK THUNK THUNK!  
  
Slowly, the dead body of the Sub-Visser fell, David pushing it away with disgust.  
  
What an amateur officer. He was too headstrong to ever become a Visser.  
  
"What an amusing performance, David Taggart."  
  
A bulky humanoid stood before me, a man like alien with a square head, long, conical arms that looked like drills, but actually had hooks like a crowbar. A medium length tail with a thick, dulled slab of bone on the end moved slowly from side to side. The beast was covered in a shock of brown hair. It was about eight feet tall, not as imposing as a Hork-Bajir, but it could take down a strong man easily.  
  
Who are you?  
  
"Me? I'm Visser 59. Ussam 9188, primary, of the Illani Lumsk pool, Nahara. This is my host, a Naharan. How do you like it?"  
  
"I have morphs like it."  
  
"Indeed."  
  
We stood for a tense moment, the Visser looking at us, flanked by his Hork- Bajir.  
  
Why do you not shoot us?  
  
He signed, "I am here to give you one last chance. You have proved yourselves a valuable investment on the part of Sirex 4891. Surrender, work for the Empire, we can guarantee the freedom of your warriors. This is your last chance. You have not a place in the universe to hide, David Taggart."  
  
We will manage.  
  
"Where will you go? You cannot stay on Terra Firma. We hold this world now, the takeover is nearly complete. Will you hide on the Skrit Na world, with smugglers and renegades? Or land in Eastern Pentasera and get your heads chopped off by Gervasid? You have no home, no way, and no clue. You are lost, Taggart. We are the only way."  
  
He turned his massive frame to us. He looked us all over.  
  
"Time is running out," I reminded him.  
  
Two minutes to go.  
  
Go to Hell, parasite.  
  
"Open fire!" The Visser screamed.  
  
David fired first, impaling the Visser on a tentacle and bringing him closer to his jaw  
  
"NOOOOO!"  
  
He dropped Visser 59 in, crunching his mouth a few times.  
  
Mmm. Tastes like chicken.  
  
Lets get out of here, said Aleks, Come on!  
  
We followed him towards a Bug Fighter, David demrphing all the way.  
  
"Thirty seconds untill weapons malfunction," The electronic voice chiding.  
  
We entered the fighter, demorphed, Aleks rising before I could pull the hatch closed.  
  
He pulled it into a burn, heading for the closing hanger doors above us.  
  
"Seal them in! Don't let them escape!" I heard on the radio.  
  
"Faster, Aleks!" I cried.  
  
"I've got better things to do today than die!" He replied.  
  
Like a missile, we flew out the blast doors as they closed behind us, heading for the Anubis, by now back in orbit.  
  
KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!  
  
The Lancer's weapons began firing, Dracon cannons, flack guns, torpedo tubes, all firing about the Yeerk Pool.  
  
"AHHH! They've breached the power plant! They've killed us…."  
  
Static.  
  
I looked out the port window. Everything below us, all we had seen, was a ball of fire.  
  
We had destroyed Tokyo.  
  
And I had set it all up.  
  
RIPPER  
  
  
  
Within moments, Aleks had brough our fighter up to dock with the Anubis. We couldn't carry a third Bug Fighter, so we crossed via an umbilical and dumped it in space.  
  
I was the first to the bridge. I entered just as I was securing my side arm.  
  
When we walked on the bridge, I was greeted with a terrible sight.  
  
Bin Laden, and two of his soldiers had Sara, guns all around her. Sara was naked and crying.  
  
I couldn't find words to describe how I felt.  
  
Bin Laden looked at me, a smug expression on his face.  
  
"A woman has to be used accordingly."  
  
"She is eleven years old."  
  
He shrugged.  
  
"I have had younger."  
  
That was it. I snapped.  
  
I raised my Dracon pistol, aimed it to the head of Usama Bin Laden, and squeezed off a round.  
  
I killed him instantly.  
  
One of his men aimed for me, but Sara squared him in the groin, grabbing his gun.  
  
She fired into his gut.  
  
I used this opportunity to kill the other one.  
  
Sara looked so destroyed, sitting there on the ground. Part of me wanted to comfort her. She had just been through Hell. Part of me wanted to leave.  
  
Part of me wanted revenge.  
  
No matter what she was, Sara was still a kid. And no one deserves that. No one.  
  
I walked to the control board, going for the part that controlled the room holding all of the Al Qaeda men.  
  
It was the containment/hazard room.  
  
Its contents could be flushed into space.  
  
I did just that.  
  
ALEKS  
  
"Good call, Ripper."  
  
"What are you talking about? He murdered a hundred and thirty men!" Accused LaRouche.  
  
"You killed millions today," Pointed out David.  
  
He continued, "Whatever the case, Ripper made an executive decision. The Al Qaeda were preparing to mutiny. He made a good decision, by flushing them.  
  
"I still don't like it."  
  
The monitor flashed to life, a transmission from the pool ship coming in.  
  
Sub-Visser Four filled the monitor.  
  
"Who am I addressing?"  
  
I replied, "Aleks Stantford, Antimorph Air Commander and second in command, first mate of the Anubis."  
  
"I wish to speak with captain Taggart."  
  
"Very well."  
  
David stepped into view.  
  
"What is it, Yeerk."  
  
"The Empire is willing to negotiate. Surrender, and we give you what you most want."  
  
"And what is that?"  
  
"A normal life. Sanctuary on your own planet. Your parents can be freed. We have them here, if you want to talk to them…"  
  
"I do not wish to negotiate with Yeerks, no matter in what guise."  
  
"We have removed the Yeerk from the host, they speak of their own will."  
  
His reply was harsh.  
  
"I will not speak with them."  
  
Sub-Visser Four looked at him with an evil glare.  
  
"Very well. I will bring your parents with me. When you desire to see them again, come and find me."  
  
"The next time we meet, only one of us will walk away."  
  
"May it be so, Antimorph."  
  
David turned to LaRouche.  
  
"Z-Space, now."  
  
"What is our destination?" LaRouche Asked.  
  
"Wild Space. We need to plot our revenge."  
  
LaRouche punched us in for wild space, and the universe when a brilliant white.  
  
END OF EPISODE ONE  
  
COMING SOON: EPISODE TWO- BUG HUNT 


	9. Episode Two:Bug Hunt Part One: Dark Desi...

1 [This concept for this episode was originally provided by Augestine Quill, author of One Least Likely. I have elaborated on his original concept, but the idea is his. Thanks, man.]  
  
  
  
Any similarity between the 'Bugs' and 'Xenomorphs', from 'Alien,' 'Aliens', 'Alien3,' and 'Alien:Resurrection,' is purely coincidential. The 'Xenomorph' concept it copyright 1978-2002, 20th Century Fox. Original 'Xenomorph' design by H.R. Giger.  
  
Antimorph is a legal trademark of Colin Mitchell, 1999-2002. All original characters and personalities, histories, vehicles, species and locations are copyright 2002, Colin Mitchell.  
  
2  
  
3 Episode Two: Bug Hunt  
  
Part One: Dark Designs  
  
Antimorph Flagship, Anubis, Wild Space…  
  
May 17th, 2000  
  
DAVID  
  
We floated, aimless, among the stars.  
  
No destination, each of us locked in our own minds. The corridors of the Blade Ship were quiet, everyone pondering their past, and our future.  
  
We had fled earth over a month ago, abandoning it to Yeerk infestation. We had done damage to their outpost's, destroying pool's in Berlin and devastating Tokyo, site of another major pool. I had killed Visser 59, and Sub-Visser 64. Our team had fought the Yeerks hard. And we fought well.  
  
On Terra Firma, we gave them Hell.  
  
But there were too many of them, hundreds of thousands on the ground, hundreds arriving each day.  
  
Sub-Visser Four, Efflit 1318, and Sub-Visser Eight, Nodnarb 395, in the hosts of the Animorphs Rachel and Aximili, had succeeded in taking earth. Even worse, Sub-Visser four had left the Sol system, taking my parents with him as bait.  
  
I resisted the temptations of Visser 59 and Sub-Visser four, ordering LaRouche to punch in a course for Wild Space-an uninhabited zone on the far side of the Sol system. No Yeerk had ever entered the zone, no Andalites, either.  
  
Empty. Totally empty.  
  
I don't think I said more than ten words to Aleks in a month, but he called me down the bridge urgently.  
  
When I arrived, the whole crew stood, watching the central monitor.  
  
A pleasant looking human was delivering a news dispatch, from what appeared to be a normal new anchors desk.  
  
"…And as the processing of Terra Firma continues, one can only hope that the atmosphere adapters will not be damaged by attacks from the human rebel group, 'Brotherhood of Nod.'"  
  
"What the hell is this?" I asked.  
  
"YNN-Yeerk News Net," answered LaRouche, a cigarette dangling in his hand, " Like CNN, just really screwed up. This is the first Imperial transmission we've gotten since we made the jump."  
  
The anchor continued to talk.  
  
"In our top story, the human renegades, the 'Antimorphs," have continued to evade Imperial agents, we spoke with Visser 69, the commander of the task force charged with finding these criminals."  
  
Sub-Visser four, Rachel, filled the screen.  
  
"I am confident that we will soon locate the group. At this time, we are pursuing several leads, all of which point towards Wild Space."  
  
The anchorwoman asked again, "What about allegations that professional Bounty Hunters are being used to track down the Antimorph fleet?"  
  
"At this time, no Bounty Hunters or Mercenaries are being used to locate the Antimorph Blade Ship, Anubis, and it's two Bug Fighters. Representatives from the Gervasid Protectorate and the Skrit Na have assured us that we can count on their support if the need should arise."  
  
"Some have even gone as far as to say that a Yeerk scientist and Sub- Visser, Sirex 4891, was responsible for creating the Antimorphs, giving the leader, David Taggart a powerful clone and providing a Blade Ship, two Bug Fighters, and allowing  
  
Taggart to illegally have them modified while in Imperial custody. Can you shed any light on this?"  
  
Visser 69's face went dark.  
  
"As you are well aware, Sirex 4891 was demoted from Sub-Visser two to Under- Visser 1042, after his involvement in the Pentasera civil war. It is believed that, motivated by animosity towards the Empire, that he has defected to the Andalites. As of late, no information points to his involvement with the Antimorphs. Taggart stole his ships from a pool ship, and was cloned by Andalites."  
  
"What a fuckin' lie!" I shouted. Great, now the Yeerks were lying about me, to the whole damn galaxy.  
  
Great.  
  
"Thank you for your time, Visser 69. We remind our viewers of the reward for any information leading to the location, infestation and/or execution of the Antimorphs. Fifteen million Imperial Credits, a rank of Sub-Visser, and commendation from the Emperor himself."  
  
"Holy, man. That's a lot of money!" Said Aleks.  
  
"Yeah, they must really want us, badly," said Sara.  
  
"Once again, the Antimorphs consist of David Taggart, aged fifteen. Taggart is a clone, extremely powerful and intelligent. His second in command is seventeen year old Aleks Stantford, an expert soldier and fighter pilot. Next, a human known only as 'Ripper', age unknown, noted by Hork-Bajir commando's for his ferocity in combat. Another human, Marc LaRouche, fifteen, is the Blade Ship pilot and technological mastermind. He is wanted in connection with the incident in the Tokyo pool on Terra Firma, in addition to Skorre Fett, an exceptional Hork-Bajir, wanted for involvement in the Berlin pool incident. Last, a young female human, Sara Berenson, is believed to be involved with the group, but that information cannot be confirmed. All of the Antimorphs should be considered armed and extremely dangerous."  
  
"Damn straight," said Ripper.  
  
"This is Suram 812, for YNN. Good night."  
  
The broadcast ended.  
  
"Wow. So, what do we do now?" Asked Aleks.  
  
"We must get allies. We have no resources with which to face the Yeerks head on," Said Skorre.  
  
"But who? No one will help us, there's a huge bounty on our heads! They want us dead or alive," I said, "Besides, last time we tried to get some allies, it didn't work our too well for us."  
  
See, recently, we allied ourselves with an Arab militant group called Al Qaeda, who aided us in attacking the Berlin pool, but tried to overtake the ship in our absence, attacking Sara in the process. If was due to the quick thinking of Ripper that the problem was solved, the terrorists being flushed into space.  
  
"True, but the six of us against an empire? It is a battle we can't hope to win," Said LaRouche.  
  
"We should go in fighting, kill 'em all, make 'em pay," grunted Ripper, in his usual raspy tone.  
  
"We need expendable soldiers. Sentient or not, something we can control," pointed out Aleks.  
  
"Yeah, but what can we use?" I asked.  
  
"Maybe, steal a Yeerk biological weapon, unleash it in a spaceport…" responded Aleks.  
  
"No, too risky. Besides, they would have vaccines ready."  
  
"There is another solution," piped up LaRouche, "We could ally with the Andalites."  
  
"No. We will never associate with Andalites. If anything, we are at war with them," I said.  
  
"Yes. The Andalites have done more evil than good. A quantum virus on my home world, creating the Yeerk plague in the first place, abandoning your planet to infestation, they cannot be trusted," Said Skorre.  
  
"Amen to that," muttered Ripper.  
  
"Wait a second…" Said LaRouche, from his console.  
  
"What? What is it?" I asked, suddenly excited.  
  
"A transmission, from a planet. It's really small-only 6000 meters in diameter…I think it's..."  
  
"A what?" Asked Skorre urgently.  
  
"A warning…I think It's a warning."  
  
The six of us stood in shocked silence for a moment. Why would there be a warning coming from a small planet in the middle of un inhabited space?  
  
"It doesn't add up."  
  
"So what do we do?" Asked Sara.  
  
"Dispatch fighters, land and investigate," ordered Aleks, motioning to Ripper and Skorre.  
  
"Wait a damn minute!" I said, " I give the orders here. Don't forget that though you may be Air Commander, you are still second in command, Aleks."  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Now, we will follow Aleks' plan, but cautiously. Whatever is dangerous enough to warrant a warning deserves an investigation, but a careful one."  
  
"So, we go?" Ripper Asked.  
  
"Yeah, we go, but all of us. We land the Anubis. LaRouche, what is the surface like?"  
  
"A wasteland. It looks like a meteor storm hit a few centuries ago-most of the planet is rocky and inhospitable, though sensors show a large network of tunnels beneath the surface."  
  
"Interesting. Whatever we want, it's probably in those tunnels," Said Skorre.  
  
"Enough talking! Let's go! Go!" Yelled Ripper, obviously wanting in. Ripper craved action. He doesn't always work logically, and that factor makes him both valuable and dangerous.  
  
"Alright, LaRouche, take us down."  
  
"Let's do this," said Aleks.  
  
"This is insane," muttered LaRouche. 


	10. Part Two: Playing God

1 Episode Two: Bug Hunt  
  
2 Part Two: Playing God  
  
3 ALEKS  
  
"Bring it down, nice and easy. Don't fuck this up, Ripper," I said to Ripper, in his Bug Fighter."  
  
"Yeah, I got it, Aleks," he replied, but I heard him continue, under his breath, "One of these days…"  
  
I ignored it.  
  
I dropped my ship out of the fighter bay, decending towards the grey surface of the unknown planet, the Anubis and Ripper following me.  
  
"Nice and easy…"  
  
"Hey, this doesn't make any sense," I heard LaRouche say over the comm.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"I'm not picking up any cities, or technology. But I AM getting massive life form readings. Off the charts. They make Terra Firma look like a god damn dirt ball."  
  
"But I'm not seeing anything down there," I said.  
  
"I'm telling you what I see."  
  
"Indeed."  
  
I tore through the grey, overcast clouds like a demon.  
  
"I see a nice landing spot, a flat, long valley," Said Skorre.  
  
"I see a better one," I said, my eyes going wide, "It looks abandoned. It's very, very old, but maybe something in there is worth for salvage."  
  
"What is it?" Asked David.  
  
"It looks like an outpost or something, its surrounded by a storm wall, three or four bunkers, connected by tunnels, and a few storage sheds. There's a courtyard, and a few landing pads."  
  
"Alright. We set down there," ordered David.  
  
"Got 'cha."  
  
I pulled in first, followed by the Anubis, and finally, Ripper.  
  
Slowly, I stood up, arming my heavy Dracon pistol and opening the airlock, stepping onto this alien world.  
  
LaRouche was out first, though, poking around, taking energy readings.  
  
"Hey, LaRouche!" I called over, " Where's all the monsters?"  
  
"I don't know. This place is dead."  
  
"And it looks like it's been torn apart, too," Said Sara, walking over to one of the bunkers.  
  
A long forgotten skeleton was propped up against the side of the building, clutching some ancient looking pistol.  
  
On closer inspection, more and more of the skeletons could be found, all in various positions.  
  
They all looked the same, short, long arms, short legs, stubby tail, large ears and big heads. Most were hunchbacks.  
  
"Look over here!" Yelled Ripper, waving to us.  
  
I hurried to him.  
  
Bits and pieces of ancient bone were scattered about, a small box of what looked like grenades nearby.  
  
He had blown himself up rather than be killed by…whatever had done this.  
  
"Must've been a hell of a fight," mused David.  
  
"Yeah, killer," I said absently.  
  
"OK, so we see signs of conflict. It couldn't have been a plague, probably not air bombardent," Said LaRouche, "Something tore these creatures apart."  
  
"Yeah, and they must have been nasty little fuckers, too," I said.  
  
"I have never heard of a species that could decimate with these capabilities,"  
  
"What do you mean, Skorre?" Sara asked.  
  
"None of the attacker's skeletons are here. If they were animals, they would have not taken their dead, but I doubt it was a war battle, or there would be laser burns on the dead. They wouldn't be torn apart."  
  
"Interesting point, Skorre," David agreed.  
  
We all stood in silence for a few moments, looking around.  
  
A wind chill shot through the emptied camp, sending a chill up my spine.  
  
"I think we should set up camp," I said.  
  
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," said David, " LaRouche, do you think you can set up a command post in the control bunker?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Alright, that's what we do, then. Ripper and Skorre, get everything we might need from the Anubis, some weapons and ammo. We don't know if what killed these things is still here."  
  
RIPPER  
  
We dragged a few Dracon rifles and AK's, a case of grenades, out of the armoury. Skorre carried all that crap, I carried ammo for the AK's.  
  
"David ain't payin' me enough for this shit."  
  
"He is not paying you at all."  
  
"You just proved me RIGHT, you Carver!"  
  
We walked in silence to the command bunker, where LaRouche was setting up a control station.  
  
"We have everything we'll need," I said.  
  
"Excellent, LaRouche, have you managed to tap into the central computer?"  
  
"Yes, I'm just translating the log to English now."  
  
We waited a few minutes until the translation was done.  
  
"Alright! I got it. Listen to this," LaRouche said.  
  
The voice that came out of the speakers was not human.  
  
Neither was a picture.  
  
LaROUCHE  
  
If you've seen Star Wars, you probably remember Greedo, the bounty hunter in the Mos Eisly Cantina. The one with the funnel-ears, blotchy green skin, and stubby snout mouth.  
  
Well, this ancient creature looked just like him, more or less.  
  
"Date: 79324224.42, Standard Date of the Fellium Confederacy, Nurnamekal- Istalikamictick-Gezhermaktize-Wanlopus-Collunemis-Tranne, Chief Science Officer on the planet LV-1203-ZH-9114, Biological Research Outpost…" The long dead creature said, in a shrill voice on the ancient tape.  
  
"Damn, that is one hell of a long name!" Said Aleks.  
  
"…Research on the Vynock-type creature is progressing at a rapid pace. DNA successfully altered, Zeramali test subjects proved idea incubators. Captured Wa'arnek Prisoners Of War easily destroyed in trials. Within all specifications, the Vynock-type should be ready for the front line with the Wa'arnek Federation within 143 Confederate Standard Years."  
  
"That's a lot of years too," Said Skorre.  
  
"Probably not as long as human years, though," I replied.  
  
The alien spoke on, this time in a different setting.  
  
"Vynock-type's have begun forming packs, obeying the Queen with strict, almost…military intelligence. They are attacking the test area barriers, losing great numbers, but the concentrated acidic contents in the blood are weakening the defences. Y'amalai was right, this is getting too dangerous. We are not to play T'asaaamooa with nature."  
  
"This is the last entry," I said.  
  
"Vynock-types have broken free of the test area, and for the past few days have been nesting in the air ducts, maintenance hatches and, in some cases, in the volcanicly carved labyrinth beneath this dead world. The Confederacy has sealed this planet, totally quarenteened. No one will help us now, Keselamaiok has already issued Saiamak pistols, no one knows how long we will last, but, should any one find this data in the future, do not follow in our footsteps! Leave quickly, or you will be soon joining us in Ralaimaque. Do not make the mistakes that we have made, for we are…No! Shoot it! Shoot it! NOOOO!"  
  
He was cut off. In the final seconds, a dark, blurry shape streaked around the room, being shot at with red bolts. It killed every alien on screen, and finally, the Chief Science Officer.  
  
"Let's get out of here," Said Sara, her voice quaking with fear.  
  
"I think that that would be wise. Lets get back to the Anubis, pronto!" Said David.  
  
BEEP  
  
BEEP  
  
BEEP  
  
BEEP  
  
The motion detectors were going off.  
  
I picked the readout box up in my hand.  
  
"Something is coming at us. Fast. Fifty meters."  
  
"How many?" Asked Skorre.  
  
"Unknown. Too many to count. The whole damn box is loaded!"  
  
"Hurry! We need to get out of here, now!" Said David.  
  
"Drop the sit, kid, lets burn!" Yelled Ripper, manically.  
  
"Thirty meters."  
  
"We morph flies, fly back onboard," suggested Aleks.  
  
"Not enough time!" Panted David.  
  
"Ten meters…" I counted down, like a doomsday clock.  
  
"Five…" 


	11. Part Three: A Shaping Plan

1 Episode Two: Bug Hunt  
  
Part Three: A Shaping Plan  
  
SKORRE  
  
Like a thousand gnats, they swarmed from the walls.  
  
Black, terrifying visages, each more demonic than the last.  
  
"What the FUCK is that?!" Yelled David.  
  
"You give a damn? Kill the mothers!" Screeched Ripper, as he opened fire with an AK-47, tearing the room with bullets.  
  
A creature pounced on me, from the ceiling, but my blades found its soft skin.  
  
Burning! My blade was on fire, my skin bubbling, boiling like melted plastic.  
  
"They have acid for blood," I called, "We cant make contact!"  
  
The yells of my team mates and the Dracon/Slug fire was the only reply I got.  
  
"Eat this!" Said Aleks, sticking a heavy Dracon pistol into a creatures mouth.  
  
The monsters looked like a large, muscular human being, turned inside out, a thick exo-skeleton over the ribs and body, and a long head that blended into the spine. A hideous, elongated mouth and long, thick arms with claws bigger than a Gervasid's rounded it out. The thin, quick tail was just a fun extra. The stinger was so small I could hardly see it, but it was there.  
  
"This is a battle I do not think we can win!" I called to my comrades.  
  
"He's right, there's too damn many of them," Said LaRouche, firing the Dracon rifle, " We need to get out of here!"  
  
"No SHIT Shirlock!" Was Ripper's reply.  
  
"Pull back! Morph to Golden Eagle! Ripper and Aleks, lay down surpressing fire, keep us safe as we morph, then jump through the window that you're about to shoot out!" Said David.  
  
"Sure Shit," Said Aleks, as he blasted a long, wide window open with his pistol.  
  
"Wait! Sara has no bird morphs!" LaRouche realized.  
  
"I do, I aquired a Golden Eagle from the cargo hold. It's the same one you all morphed, along with Sander's Cheetah. You actually forgot about them, didn't you?"  
  
"Never crossed my mind," muttered David.  
  
"Why did you not inform us?" Asked Aleks.  
  
"You never asked."  
  
The creatures had herded the six of us into the corner of the control room. Only a dozen or so of them were left, but we were weakened.  
  
Suddenly, they began to pull back!  
  
"What is the blue fuck is going on?" Asked Ripper.  
  
"They're learning. They know the cant beat us, they are retreating, regrouping," Panted LaRouche.  
  
"Why would they do that?" Questioned Sara.  
  
"I don't think that THEY are. Something else is pulling their strings."  
  
"The bitch…"  
  
"What's that, Ripper?" Asked David.  
  
"You know, like an ant hive. Theirs a bitch, a big ass momma. She runs the whole show."  
  
"BEE's, stupid, bee's have hives," corrected Aleks.  
  
"You know what I mean. She's gigantic, dude, she controls all of 'em, all the soldiers."  
  
"I don't think we want to stick around to see that," I said, motioning to the creatures scurrying back into the walls, leaving us for the time being.  
  
"Skorre's right, lets blow this Popsicle stand," Said David.  
  
We began to morph Golden Eagle, and within forty seconds, were birds of prey.  
  
The monsters began to fly out of the walls!  
  
A trap! Exclaimed LaRouche.  
  
Hurry, out of the window, GO! David commanded.  
  
I went through first, followed by Aleks and Sara, LaRouche, and David. Ripper came last.  
  
Damn, that was a tight fit! One of the bastards clipped off my tail feathers! He panted, as we flew to the ship.  
  
It looks deserted, Sara observed.  
  
Yes, we must make sure that we do not take those…things…off planet with us. I agreed.  
  
Oh, God. Do you see what I see? Asked LaRouche.  
  
I shifted around in a U-Turn, and saw a terrible sight.  
  
A field, ten miles long, in a narrow, flat valley.  
  
It was covered in eggs.  
  
Thousands, millions of eggs.  
  
DAVID  
  
  
  
Guys, I'm calling a team pow-wow.  
  
What? Here? Are you insane? We can't just fly around here, with all those things down there! Belted off LaRouche, manicly.  
  
We can. They can't fly. We're safe up here. I replied, in a calm tone.  
  
What is it, David? Asked Aleks.  
  
W have stumbled into a gold mine, boys and girl.  
  
Silence, then, a reply:  
  
NO WAY! NO FUCKIN' WAY!  
  
What is it, LaRouche? Asked Skorre.  
  
He wants to take those…bug things back to earth, drop them and let them get the Yeerks. We can't do that!  
  
Wait just a damn minute, LaRouche. We do what I order us to do, or have you forgotten already?  
  
LaRouche said nothing.  
  
So, we just grab a dozen of those eggs, drop them in a Yeerk pool, and let them multiply? Asked Ripper.  
  
Yeah, they would root out the Yeerk infestation, we could vaporize the city to keep them from spreading, and the Yeerks would think we had more of them and would be willing to use them on other planets. We can hold them hostage, think about it! We could win this damn war, once and for all! I said.  
  
That we could, said Sara, solemly, But, what would the cost be?  
  
Nuthin' that's what! We could kill the damn Yeerks, get the planet back! Damn, Dogs would be all dead, pushin' daisies! Squealed Ripper, excited about these developments.  
  
It sounds like a good plan, the Yeerks would definitely be terrified of us, mused Aleks.  
  
As long as we keep the contagion from spreading, I have no objections, Added Skorre.  
  
Only Sara and LaRouche opposed us.  
  
So we do it.  
  
I still object, David, I cannot endorse this at-  
  
Your objection is well noted, Marc LaRouche. Now, all of us, swoop down and grab an egg. We'll make five trips, so we'll have thirty eggs. Then we'll get the Hell out of here.  
  
Aleks led us in the dive, his claws out and ready to grab one of the lucky eggs.  
  
  
  
IMPERIAL POOL SHIP, JUDICATOR, QUALLEN NEBULA  
  
MAY FIFTEENTH, 2000…  
  
Efflit 1318, Visser 69 patrolled the halls of his command ship with a sinister aura about him.  
  
In the month since he had aquired his new host body, of the former Animorph Rachel Berenson, he had been promoted several times, and most recently, from Sub-Visser four to his new rank. He was charged with finding the human renegades known as the Antimorphs, and he had been appointed a grand fleet to do the job.  
  
Heading the fleet was a pool ship, and his personal Blade Ship. Under him, a dozen Sub-Visser's and their Lancer Frigates provided support. Beyond that, Twenty Anti-Fighter Platforms and Twelve Carrier Ships rounded the fleet out, along with two supply ships and a repair cruiser.  
  
"Quite a command, I have here," He mused under his breath.  
  
The entire fleet was some two hundred pool ships, a hundred Blade Ships, and six hundred Lancers strong. The Empire spanned fifteen planets and nearly a hundred moons, more than a dozen species.  
  
Very few in the empire had a fleet like this under their command.  
  
But every Visser knew what would become of Efflit, should he fail.  
  
Visser 69 stood in his host, overlooking the galaxy, that some day, the Empire would dominate.  
  
You'll never do it, you'll never take it all, said his host, rebelliously.  
  
You don't think so? There are trillions of Yeerks in pools on the home world, little human. Trillions. More every day. We will hold it all, someday. In fact, I expect the Andalite world to fall shorty after we recover the ancient Capital Pool City of Taaram. We have even more hosts than we need at the moment, frail little human. You have failed. All of you. What a pitiful attempt at resistance.  
  
The Visser was so engrossed in his conversation, that he hardly noticed his subordinate, Admiral Gerraam 1131, waiting patiently to his side to be addressed.  
  
"What is it, Admiral?"  
  
The Admirals Hork-Bajir host spoke, remarkably, with a tone to the voice that Rachel recognized as British. Where he had picked it up, who knew?  
  
"Visser, a transmission from the capital on Taxxis. The Emperor commands you to make contact with him."  
  
"Very well, move the fleet from this nebula so that we can send a clear transmission."  
  
"As you wish."  
  
Efflit stalked towards his quarters and found his holo-relay ready for him.  
  
He assumed a courteous kneel, before the trasmitter.  
  
A ten foot tall image of a hooded Hork-Bajir materialised before him.  
  
"My lord, how shines the Kandrona?"  
  
A gruff, voice replied, "The Kandrona shines upon me, Efflit 1318. It shines upon the Empire well."  
  
"Then can I assume that the liberation of the home world is immanent?"  
  
"You assume correctly."  
  
His voice sounds…metallic, almost, Rachel muttered.  
  
Silence, fool! The Emperor is not one to be trifled with.  
  
"You will be happy to know that Sub-Visser eight has been promoted to the rank of Visser Thirty Six. He is, as we speak, preparing an invasion of the Andalite System."  
  
A pang of jealousy ran through Efflit, how could that fool Nodnarb 395, outrank him, much less be leading the attack on the most hated enemy of the Empire?  
  
The fates were not kind.  
  
"This news brings joy to me, my Emperor, for it brings joy to the Empire."  
  
"And how goes the hunt of the Antimorph Fleet?"  
  
"The hunt is progressing…slowly. We have several leads, we are following all of them, at this time we can only assume that they are beyond all known space."  
  
"You must find them, Visser 69. The followers of Taggart must not be allowed to roam the stars."  
  
"I know, my Emperor. We will find them, I swear it."  
  
"They could destroy us," was the Emperors reply.  
  
"I know, though, if they could be turned to our cause, they would make powerful hosts."  
  
"Yes…" The Emperor said with a hiss, "They would be a great asset. Can it be done?"  
  
"They will join us, or die, my Emperor." 


	12. Part Four: RevolutionCounterRevolution

1 Episode Two: Bug Hunt  
  
Part Four: Revolution/Counter-Revolution  
  
MAY SIXTEENTH, 2000. ANTIMORPH FLAGSHIP, ANUBIS, OVER YEERK LUNAR BASE, SOL SYSTEM  
  
DAVID  
  
We made the run successfully, each snatching up five eggs. We had thirty of them now, more than enough to start an infestation.  
  
Whoever the long-dead creators were, they had designed a frightening organism, indeed. We had managed to salvage a few of the laboratory records, giving us insight into the biological weapon that was the Vynock- Type. It began as a simple, leathery, translucent egg, less than a meter tall, very lightweight. Each egg contained four creatures. When it sensed movement, the egg lets loose a hand-like creature, that would attach to the face of a nearby host.  
  
The hand-thing would lay an egg in the host, that would take on elements of the host DNA, causing mutation. When the time was right, the embryo-turned- monster would lunge out, clawing through the chest and running away, eventually maturing into an adult. The adult would try to make contact with a nearby colony, where the Queen would make more eggs to further infestation.  
  
We had one Queen egg, twenty-nine warrior eggs.  
  
We had also changed our original plan to drop the eggs on earth. Now knowing more about the Vynock-Type, I for one had no desire to cause full scale infestation and lose our planet forever.  
  
Instead, we would drop all of the eggs on the Yeerk lunar base, that had been established in the early days of the invasion. It consisted of a dozen bunkers, interconnected by sub-terranian catacombs and tunnels. A hangar, barracks, and several Anti-Air towers rounded the complex out. Better still, there was a crew of five hundred Controllers, mostly human. It would be an easy take over for the beasts.  
  
  
  
"We just made the exit from Z-Space, and we're cloaked above the Lunar Base," LaRouche reported.  
  
"Good, prepare the capsule."  
  
I had made the decision to drop all thirty eggs in a modified Escape Pod. The Pod would land in the area where the Yeerks kept live stock for the human hosts consumption, and there they would multiply.  
  
The Yeerks were foolish, leaving that area in the open, under an oxy-tarp, a thin , camouflaged ameoba that actually repaired itself in milliseconds if punctured, making it all the more valuable than armour plating when guarding something of this nature. Apparently, the creature was from the planet of Pentasera, one of the few creatures left alive after Yeerk take over.  
  
"So, this is the plan?" Asked Aleks, "Wont the Yeerks notice the pod and kill the eggs?"  
  
I replied, pointing out the obvious, "No, soon after landing, the eggs will hatch, sensing the movement of the Cows. By the time the Yeerks make their way to the pen, it will be too late, and the infestation will have begun."  
  
  
  
"…and we don't have to worry about further contamination, either," Pointed out LaRouche.  
  
"I thought you opposed this, Marc!" exclaimed Sara, alarmed to find herself alone in opinion.  
  
"I still do, but we have to follow orders, as much as we don't want to. Plus, dropping the bugs on the moon is better than dropping them on earth."  
  
"I still think you're crazy, David," Sara said.  
  
"Think what you want, it makes no difference," I said, looking towards earth.  
  
The planet was different than before, the atmosphere was a dirty green, and there was noticeably less ocean than since we last saw it. I knew Yeerk Planet Processing Protocol. By now, a primary function for earth had been set, like industry on Bajir, or ship building and space ports on Taxxis. They would mine the entire planet out within five years, ship most of the water off planet to supply the Empire. Of course, animal and plant species that had no use would be exterminated, some just dying from the atmosphere change. Earth would never be habitable, in the way we knew, again. A stabbing feeling touched my heart, sadness, knowing that everything was gone, we were the only ones left. A feeling that I was to blame…  
  
NO! The Yeerks were to blame, THEY had stolen my life, with the aid of the Animorphs. It was all their fault, I was justified in my actions, I was a General, a leader, above any ones judgement. I could take any steps I wanted to wipe out the Yeerk Empire. The rest was just collateral damage. A necessity.  
  
I was snapped out of my thoughts by Ripper's insane rambling.  
  
"Yeah, kid, dumb little tagalong, fuckin' keepin' us from guttin' dogs and Yeerks, gonna get even now, you know what they say…" Panted Ripper.  
  
"What do they say, Ripper?" Asked Skorre  
  
"For every revolution, there's a counter-revolution."  
  
SARA  
  
"Jettison the pod," David ordered.  
  
LaRouche responded, initiating the sequence to drop the life pod-the life pod that would bring death to hundreds of Yeerks.  
  
I looked out the bridge window to see the pod streaking down to the moon, to the quarter mile wide, green life form that had been targeted. The live stock feeding area.  
  
"They've picked it up," LaRouche said, turning up the volume on the comlink.  
  
"Air control, unidentified object coming in at 234 degrees latitude, 432 degrees longitude. Scan confirms, not meteorite, possible escape pod, life forms detected, it could be from a Blade Ship."  
  
Another voice responded, " Blade Ship? Was there a problem on Visser Thirty- Six's Blade Ship?"  
  
"No, its docked in Norway, but it could be from Visser Twenty's fleet, they got thrashed over the seventeenth moon of Taloraan the other day, we're not far from there, either."  
  
"Alright, we'll take it down, looks like its headed down to the live stock pen, the oxy-tarp should repair itself before any damage occurs. I tell you, Temrash, I need a vacation, too much damn work. The Empire isn't paying me enough for this."  
  
"Tell me 'bout it."  
  
The comlink went dead.  
  
YEERK LUNAR BASE  
  
Fest 023 sat at his desk, sorting paperwork.  
  
Life just isn't what is used to be, the old Yeerk thought, a nostalgic smile creeping to his Sstram lips.  
  
For an under-visser, I've seen a lot of action, I deserve a nice log retirement, maybe a holiday to the tenth moon of Lummod IV, the Mak planet, though Fest. Though Lummod IV was a barren desert, the tenth moon was a virtual paradise, one of the only places left untouched by Yeerk 'Simplification.'  
  
Yes, a holiday would be rather nice, I would think, He said to his host, a Sstram named Sskruouss, You'd like it there, beaches, tall tree's, only a small garrison, yes we do deserve a break. Maybe I can even arrange some temporary freedom for you, eh? In a controlled environment, of course.  
  
I want none of your freedom, Yeerk. I only desire true freedom, not some illusion.  
  
Sstram never shut up, Fest muttered, silently.  
  
Why do I even keep this host? I've had it for more than fifteen years, I could have a nice Hork-Bajir, or a Mak, or a Nahara, a human. Anything but a Taxxon or a Gedd. I won't go back to that.  
  
I've aged faster than I should've in this body.  
  
It was true, given enough Kandrona, a Yeerk could live for thousands of years.  
  
But, as Fest knew, Sstram never shut up. The under-visser was always jumpy, paranoid, fearful, when surrounded by others. It had taken a toll on his consciousness and spirit.  
  
Fest was snapped from his thoughts by the lieutenant at the door.  
  
"What is it, Lieutenant?"  
  
"The escape pod has just landed, sir. The oxy-tarp repaired instantly, no cattle were lost."  
  
Fest smiled. If there was one good thing about these humans, it was the food. Cows were deliscious.  
  
"Good, gather a team, ten humans should be sufficient. I will accompany them."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
Fifteen minutes later, ten human-controllers and Fest were standing by the entrance to the cattle pen, the humid atmosphere making breathing difficult for the Sstram, as its lungs needed more thin air to breathe.  
  
"Let's go."  
  
Taking the vibroblade from his belt, a human youth cut a hole in the side of the oxy-tarp, holding the giant amoeba open, like a grotesque door, for his comrades to enter.  
  
None of them were armed, all the weapons in the task force were needed to quell the human rebels on Terra Firma, and the entire garrison was mostly mechanics, repairing fighters and cruisers. Besides, this was just an escape pod, no need for them to arm themselves.  
  
Of the eleven, six were medics, two mechanics, an intrpreter, a protocol officer, and the moon security chief, Husem 991.  
  
"Husem, let me see that draco-lamp," Fest asked his subordinate.  
  
Husem handed his officer the quarter meter long stick, showing the room in a dim, red glow.  
  
"Where are all the cattle?" Asked one of the mechanics.  
  
"Probably scared, ran away. Maybe a few got injured," Suggested the interpreter.  
  
The group walked slowly over the Pentaseran grass that had been planeted under the oxy-tarp.  
  
"Is it possible that some of the cattle could have been sucked out the oxy- tarp?" Asked Husem, looking up at the green, translucent amoeba above them.  
  
"No, I've never heard of that happening, not on a hundred moons," said Fest, eying a structure a hundred yards to the east, "I see the pod."  
  
Quickly, the group ran to the pod, covering the distance in less than two minutes.  
  
What they saw was horrifying.  
  
Nearly a hundred cattle lay around the pod, each on its side, each with a claw-like monster attached to its head, a tail wrapped around its throat.  
  
"What in the galaxy is it?" Asked Husem, eerily.  
  
"I…I don't know, I've never seen a thing like it before," Fest stammered, making his way into the pod.  
  
No light reached the inside of the pod, save the draco-lamp that Fest held.  
  
"Damn lamp, I can hardly see!" The Under-Visser called behind him.  
  
No one replied.  
  
Fest shifted his head to the side, seeing a cluster of leathey- looking…eggs.  
  
"Eggs?" Whispered Fest, getting close to one of them, peering inside.  
  
Inside, the old Yeerk saw four of the hand shaped objects.  
  
He got even closer, his face right by the side.  
  
The face-grabber moved, it's reflexes faster than an Andalite tail blade, shooting through the side of the egg and onto Fest's face like a bullet.  
  
It's tail wrapped around the Sstram neck, choking his windpipe. When Fest instinctively opened the mouth to draw in more air, the alien shot a pipe- like organ down his throat, releasing pheremones that sent the Yeerk Under- Visser into a coma.  
  
As all consciousness slipped from his mind, the host, the Sstram, Sskruouss, regained control of a brief moment, his life long ambitions realised.  
  
Finally, he, too, lost consciousness, drifting off to the netherworld of sleep.  
  
The last thought of Sskruouss the Sstram, was that in death, he would finally be free… 


	13. Part Five: Prelude To Destruction

1 Episode Two: Bug Hunt  
  
Part Five: Prelude To Destruction  
  
Antimorph Flagship, Anubis, in orbit of Yeerk Lunar Base, Terra Firma, May Sixteenth 2000.  
  
  
  
RIPPER  
  
Two hours after the drop, the Yeerk base stopped sending transmissions.  
  
By now, the last of the Yeerks had been dragged into the massive hive, probably under the oxy-tarp, in a moist, humid environment. The Queen would be functioning, here drones attending to her every need. And when the Yeerk forces came to investigate, the bugs would make it off world, spread from planet to planet, until the entire Empire was ripped to shreds.  
  
"Dogs got what was comin' to 'em," I muttered to David.  
  
"Exactly, everyone got what they deserved."  
  
The pool ship, the Avenger, was franticly trying to establish a transmission with the moon base, but to no avail. We easily picked up their communications with our advanced hardware.  
  
"Moon base, do you copy? Do you require assistance? Fest, we don't need this right now, human reb's givin' us crap all over the planet…"  
  
"So, what do we do now?" Asked Skorre, nervously looking towards the moon far below, we could only imagine what was going on down there."  
  
"We wait. Soon, Visser 69's fleet will be coming to investigate, and then we can engage as we deem fit."  
  
"Are you sure we can take on an entire fleet? How many ships does he have?" Asked LaRouche, uncertainty tinging his voice.  
  
"We will not need to take on the entire fleet. We must only destroy his command ship, then we take off. Visser 69 will pay for his crimes."  
  
FOUR HOURS LATER, ABOVE GAS GIANT TALORAAN…  
  
Visser 69 watched with a grim expression as the Anti-Fighter-Platforms mopped up the last of the Andalite Fighters that had staged an assault on the Terrellium gas mining facilities of Taloraan. His fleet had been closest to the system when the raid was staged, and within twenty minutes of his arrival, the battle was over, though much damage had been taken due to the foolish action of Admiral Gerraam, more processed gas had been lost than necessary.  
  
This is getting too easy, Efflit 1318 muttered, silently to Rachel.  
  
What did you expect? You outnumbered them ten to one, the odds were definetly in your favour.  
  
It's not just this, you cannot begin to imagine the stress that I will be under, once the high command gets wind of this.  
  
What, you beat them, so they'll get mad at you?  
  
You don't know the half of it, Admiral Gerraam made a critical error, he brought the fleet out of Z-Space to far from the planet, we lost over an hour just getting here on a burn.  
  
Visser 69 punched in on the ships intercom, bringing up an image of Captain Pietta 099, a young Yeerk Sub-Visser in a Naharan host.  
  
"Visser, the fleet has just finished engaging the Andalite task force, the remnants fleeing into separate locations, though substantial amounts of Tirillium gas were lost, nearly eighty percent of total reserves."  
  
Efflit flinched. This was very bad news, indeed.  
  
"Also, we have received a priority signal from the pool ship Avenger, over Terra Firma. They request your presence immediately."  
  
What did Nodnarb 395 want now? Couldn't he solve his own problems?  
  
"Very well, send Admiral Gerraam to my quarters."  
  
"As you wish, Visser." Pietta motioned the tech to cut the intercom off, but Efflit stopped him.  
  
"No, Captain. I want you to take note of this."  
  
Pietta said nothing, waiting silently for a moment until Gerraam arrived, visably nervous.  
  
"What is your will, Visser?" Asked the Admiral, his Hork-Bajir host showing signs of duress.  
  
Without warning, Efflit began to morph to a colossal Grizzly Bear, while the sweaty Admiral backed into a corner.  
  
You are an old fool, Gerraam, Said Efflit, lifting the Admiral up to eye level with him, Have you any idea how much the value of that gas was? Do you know how much your simple miscalculation costed the Empire?  
  
"No…Visser…" Croaked Gerraam, his Hork-Bajir smaller than most, struggling to breath, his face turning dark blue.  
  
Millions of credits, Admiral. Millions. That gas took years to mine, and you threw it away in an hour.  
  
"It…won't happen…again…"  
  
You have failed me for the last time, Admiral.  
  
Pietta gasped as Efflit 1318 promptly broke Admiral Gerraams neck, throwing him to the floor.  
  
Dispatch a garrison, leave several Frigates and Cruisers to guard against further attack, and set your course for the Sol system. You are in command, Admiral Pietta.  
  
"As you wish, Visser," Said the nervous Yeerk, sweat pouring on his brow.  
  
Taggart would not escape this time…  
  
DAVID  
  
LaRouche always had a habit of getting us into shitty situations.  
  
This one definitely counted as shitty.  
  
"There is information in the central computer on the moon base that we could certainly use."  
  
"What? Are you INSANE!?" Bellowed Aleks.  
  
"No, that's your department, Aleks."  
  
"Quit jumpin' 'round, whats in the comps? What? What? WHAT?!" Ranted Ripper, his voice rising to a shrill whine.  
  
"Oh, nothing too major, I suppose. Just the location of every ship in the Empire, every moon base, every bunker, every garrison, every contracted bounty hunter, you know that kind of information, that has no real purpose or use in a guerrilla war," Said LaRouche, with a sarcastic flair to his voice.  
  
  
  
A moment of silence, I could see Aleks' face glowing red, Ripper let loose a low-pitched hiss.  
  
"FUCK-BEANS!!!!" Exploded Aleks.  
  
"Bull shit! Fuck!" I roared, pounding the wall with my fist, leaving a huge indent, " WHY THE HELL CAN'T ANYTHING EVER GO MT WAY!? WHY, HUH? FUCK!"  
  
Sara said in low voice, "Ouch."  
  
"So, what can we do?" Asked Skorre to no one in particular.  
  
"We can't go down there, we don't have any morphs small enough to get past those fucking bugs! The sensors show that the main nest is right beside the master computers, we cant get that information without one hell of a fight!" I bellowed.  
  
"Unless…" mused Aleks.  
  
"Unless what? We get a miracle?" Spat Ripper.  
  
"No, unless someone can get a bug morph."  
  
SKORRE  
  
"Fuck that! I ain't goin'! No fucking way!"  
  
Come on, Ripper, it wouldn't be that hard, you've taken…missions this risky before, It wouldn't be any different," explained David.  
  
"No way in hell," Ripper growled, " This is total suicide, there isn't any chance of me makin' it out, besides, how would I get around in there? It's fuckin' impossible!"  
  
"I know what you could do," Sara said quietly, in the corner, " You could become one…of them."  
  
"A bug? You out of your mind? You must be loco, kid, no way I'm doin' it have Aleks do it, he's the one who came up with the damn idea, why do I have to go?"  
  
"You're the smallest and the fastest, you're a great climber and you can get around in tight spots easily, I think you'd be fine," Said LaRouche.  
  
"Bah!" Ripper scoffed, " I can't do it alone, plus, I have no clue how to take the shit out the comp when I get to it, I'd be useless!"  
  
"I'll go."  
  
We all turned to see Sara, standing bravely."  
  
"Yeah! Yeah! The kid should go! Let her go, she's expendable, right guys? Right?"  
  
"You both must go, you are the only two of us able to make it," I said.  
  
"Yes, Ripper can provide cover for Sara to get to the computer," Explained David.  
  
"Shit! I do EVERYTHING out here! When does Aleks do anything, besides pump his veins full of Heroin and strut his shit. When does LaRouche ever do shit? All he does it sit around on the bridge. When does Skorre do ANYTHING, I don't think I've seen him-"  
  
"Shut up, Ripper. Remember the Al Qaeda you flushed? That's what I'll do to you if you don't follow orders," said Aleks menacingly.  
  
"Fuck you, you psychopath!"  
  
"Psychopath? I'm not the one who kills and eats dogs, Ripper," Responded Aleks.  
  
"I do the work of GOD!"  
  
"No, you do the work of me," Interjected David.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Alright. I'll go. I'll take the kid."  
  
"Good, good…" trailed David.  
  
"Hey, the Avenger just got response from Visser 69's fleet, they'll be here in two hours," cut in LaRouche.  
  
"Excellent. They will come to us, then everyone will get what they deserve." 


	14. Part Six: Into Hell, And Back Again

1 Episode Two: Bug Hunt  
  
Part Six: Into Hell, and Back Again  
  
RIPPER  
  
I piloted the small shuttlecraft down to the empty docking platform on the Yeerk lunar base. The shuttle was cramped, hardly enough room for Sara and I.  
  
"We should set down near the edge, then we can morph something small and get to the computers," Sara suggested.  
  
"I do the thinking here, dog."  
  
" I know, but most of it makes no sense."  
  
The Yeerk lunar base loomed at us like an impending nightmare, as I glided the shuttle down to the docking platform, its landing beacons luminating the sky with an eerie red.  
  
As we touched down, an automatic air platform tube attached to the ship, allowing us to cross over to the base.  
  
"I have a bad feeling about this," She muttered to me.  
  
"Yeah, me too," I replied, wiping sweat from my brow, " morph to spider."  
  
The spider was small enough to get us to the centre of the base, and had good enough eye sight to avoid trouble.  
  
Within two minutes, where the two of us had stood, two identical Tarantula's sat.  
  
Woah! Sara exclaimed, Look at these eyes! It's like a fun house!  
  
Stop playing! We need to get in and out.  
  
Yes, massa Rippa, we bess we goin' 'bouts our bussiness's. She replied with a sarcastic old time slave accent.  
  
I didn't care less. We were in the belly of the beast.  
  
DAVID  
  
"They're coming right at us!" LaRouche yelled franticly, as the Yeerk pool ship appeared in view from the far side of the planet, launching a salvo of Bug Fighters at us. Hundreds. Instantly, A Blade Ship materialized.  
  
The Blade Ship of Visser 36.  
  
Ah, So David Taggart and his Antimorphs have come to make revenge on the mighty Yeerk Empire? He sneered, appearing before us on the monitor.  
  
"I have come to destroy Visser 69. And then to destroy this fleet."  
  
I think not, Taggart. Your band of terrorists will fare no better than the rest of humanity. You will fail.  
  
"We. Shall. See," I spat.  
  
The first wave of Fighters reached us, Skorre and Aleks manning the turrets and blasting them to oblivion.  
  
"Go after the Blade Ship! We can't take all these fighters at once," I ordered LaRouche.  
  
"I got it," he replied, calmly.  
  
I stared in disbelief, " Just how can you be so calm about this?!" I asked incredulously.  
  
"Because I'm French," LaRouche replied matter-of-factly.  
  
SARA  
  
Demorph, we've been in morph for a while, lets get a sense of where we're at.  
  
Aye-Aye, Skipper! I said sarcastically.  
  
Just what the Hell is with you? He asked, clearly upset.  
  
Uh, well, gee Ripper! You haven't exactly been a saint to me, you know.  
  
It isn't my job to be a saint, kid. It's my job to get the job done and protect us all from those dogs. You don't know how smart they are.  
  
I sighed, I just didn't know how to feel about Ripper. He had saved me from the Al Qaeda after they beat me, killing their leader, Bin Laden, just before he decided to go one step further.  
  
I began to demorph.  
  
Soon, I was human again, glancing around in my new surroundings.  
  
A moment later, Ripper joined me.  
  
We weren't in Kansas anymore.  
  
The walls were covered in mucousy, organic tissue, that seemed to be growing into the complex. It gave the air a terrible stink, like ten thousand pounds of horse manure. And the heat…the heat was above comprehension, it was like…  
  
"…like the god damned tropics in here! Woah! What the hell is this?" Ripper wondered aloud.  
  
"I guess this is what bugs do in their free time," I responded.  
  
"Right, well, lets just find out where we are, and get the files." Ripper started down the hall, his bare feet sinking into the moist membrane on the floor.  
  
"Ewwww…" I muttered.  
  
I turned around, staring into the face of a bug.  
  
ALEKS  
  
"Die motherfucker!"  
  
Another Bug Fighter exploded into green flame as we made a strafing run at the Blade Ship.  
  
"Intensify forward firepower, I don't want anything to get through!" David barked at Skorre and I, standing over LaRouche at the controls.  
  
"I have an idea, David!" the Frenchman exclaimed.  
  
"Oh yeah? And what's that?" Asked David, Firing the forward Dracon Beams.  
  
"If we hit the pool ship's engines with a proton torpedo, we might be able to cause a chain reaction…"  
  
"…That will destroy the battle ship from the inside out." I finished.  
  
Amid the space battle, everyone stared at me.  
  
"What? I saw Star Wars!"  
  
"Right, let's do it!" David said, "Strafe the pool ship!"  
  
RIPPER  
  
A Bug! Right in front of me!  
  
My system flooding with adrenaline, I jumped back, just as it's stringy tail balked at me.  
  
"SSSSRRRREEEEEWWWWSSSS!!!!" I screamed in a high pitch voice.  
  
"Sara, run!"  
  
No time to think, no time to morph, a Bug was chasing me through it's hive at top speed!  
  
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…" I panted, running out of breath.  
  
I was gaining on the bug! I was going to make it! I was going to get out alive!  
  
I ran right into a dead end.  
  
SKORRE  
  
"David, get to the torpedo tubes, drop the forward Dracon cannons!" I yelled as we made out approach on the looming pool ship, it's colossal, spider like form filling me with dread. I had only been on it once, but I knew that it contained enough Yeerks in its pool to enslave the average population of most planets.  
  
David dropped the powerful forward cannon while Aleks and I manned two of the quad Dracon turrets.  
  
"Aha! Another one bites the dust," growled Aleks.  
  
LaRouche took over the forward cannon, squeezing off several rounds as he piloted the Anubis through over fifty enemy ships.  
  
"I got one, I got on!" He chanted, ecstatic that he had downed a Yeerk fighter.  
  
"Great kid!" Shouted David, muttering, "Don't get cocky."  
  
Visser 36's face lit the bridge again.  
  
If you are attempting to down the Avenger, do not be so sure that you will succeed. Our Leviathan series pool ships cannot be destroyed by a simple- The Visser was cut off.  
  
An unseen lieutenant with a human voice interrupted, "Um, Visser…The Avenger isn't a Leviathan, it's a Gorgon class, sir, first series ever built, Taxxis ship yards, human year 1970, anchored on Taxxis, 1976, after Andalite engagement, entered the fleet 1978…"  
  
What?!!? A GORGON CLASS!? Visser 36 roared, enflamed with anger, Foolish, Efflit 1010, just as foolish as your pool brother.  
  
In the corner of my eye, I saw Visser 36's tail blade flicker, and heard a sound, like a sack of potatoes falling to the ground.  
  
Aukum 1450, you are lieutenant now.  
  
"Thank you, Visser, but we have analysed their attack and there is a danger, should be prepare the emergency shuttle's on the Avenger?"  
  
Evacuate? In my moment of triumph? I think you overestimate their destructive capability!  
  
"Never underestimate a human, Visser," grunted David, Firing a salvo of proton torpedo's into the pool ship's engines.  
  
SARA  
  
The Bug had Ripper cornered, but I was faster.  
  
I grabbed it's tail, cutting myself on it's blade, at the same time aquiring it's DNA into my blood stream.  
  
The Bug went into a trance like state, like all animals do when aquired.  
  
"Run, Ripper!"  
  
Instead, he grabbed the Bugs soft face, aquiring it after I let go.  
  
"Die…you son of a bitch!"  
  
Ripper pushed his claw like fingers into it's eyes, steam flowing from the holes as it's acid blood ate away at him.  
  
"GRAAAAWWWWW!!!" Both Ripper and the Bug cried.  
  
The monster collapsed, dead.  
  
Ripper held his hand in the sky, a conquering hero over his victim.  
  
I stammered, " Oh my God, Ripper…your hand…"  
  
I looked at me like it was the littlest thing in the world, "Nothing a little morphing won't fix," He winked.  
  
I nodded.  
  
And morphed the Bug.  
  
LaROUCHE  
  
"YEE-HAAWWW!" Exclaimed Aleks exuberantly as the pool ship Avenger exploded in a greenish blue fireball, chunks of debris flying in all directions.  
  
"We've lost the Avenger!" Yelled a Yeerk over the comlink.  
  
I want a status report! Barked the Visser.  
  
"Seven hundred million Yeerks in the pool, a hundred fifty thousand crew, including troopers, four wings of Bug Fighters, each wing with seven squadrons of twelve ships, two Lancers, Sub-Visser's 91, 11 and 821 lost. Intelligence from the Andale system…"  
  
My invasion plans!  
  
The Visser impaled the poor deck officer, Aukum 1450, with his blade, Taxxons clambering to get a piece of fresh meat.  
  
You snivelling Taxxon fodder, you insolent little slime! I will crush you, Taggart, I will destroy you!  
  
"I think you'll need to wait a while first, Visser 36."  
  
Another pool ship, Blade ship, and two long, jagged oval like craft materialized out of Z-Space.  
  
RIPPER  
  
The first thing I felt when I morphed the Bug was…nothing.  
  
No thought, no mind, no impulses, no needs, no desires or wants.  
  
Mindless.  
  
Soulless.  
  
But the senses…the senses were the greatest of all. My sight was blurred white, I could see a red aura about Sara while she was in morph, a blue one as a human. I could hear the lightest footfall of a flea, I could smell the stations ancient reactor core, I could…sense everything about me.  
  
Look at this! Sara called.  
  
I turned my head upwards to see her crawling on the ceiling, faster than a bullet. She zoomed around the room like a cheetah on speed.  
  
I could, too.  
  
Alright, we got some killer new morphs, now, lets get to the computers and get out!  
  
Gotcha, hey look at this!  
  
Sara looked like she was hawking a loogie, but instead she spat out a gob of mucousy acid.  
  
Wow…that's…different… I murmured to myself.  
  
Yeah, its like…I'm the ultimate predator…it's really cool.  
  
We moved down the hallways, ducking in and out of ventilation shafts, walking seamlessly by the several Bugs we encountered.  
  
We were just part of the crowd.  
  
Alright, we're close to the computer core…that's the highest heat source in the station, the Bug hive is right were we need to go, Sara informed me.  
  
Alright, I'll cover you while you get the plans out, the computer will probably respond to thought speech, I replied.  
  
Suddenly, a sharp stinging in my head!  
  
Ahh! I cried.  
  
My head! It's burning! Sara panted.  
  
Queen! We need to…find the intruders! We need to kill them! We need to get the two-leggers!   
  
DAVID  
  
"Visser 69," I said to the new face on the screen, " Come back for more?"  
  
"Yes, David," Rachel's face sneered, " I have your parents, they still love you, David. They want you to turn yourself in…they like what they have become." A demonic smile lit the Visser's face.  
  
A shot of pain…a revelation, a memory from so long ago…  
  
FLASH  
  
Rachel stood over me behind the school cafeteria, brandishing a plastic knife. Everything was hazy, shrouded in mist.  
  
"What are you doing? Tryin' to scare me?" I asked her.  
  
"Naw, I wouldn't want to do that…Just wanted to tell you something," She replied.  
  
"Oh yeah? What's that?"  
  
"See, you sell us out to Visser Three, we'll know. We have sources on the inside. We'll find out."  
  
"Big deal. You can't do anything about it."  
  
"Yeah, you're probably right. If they knew, we wouldn't last very long," She leaned closer, whispering in my ear, " But I would last…just a little while…long enough to make sure your parents…Well, use your imagination."  
  
FLASH  
  
I was surrounded! By the very people I had killed. Jake, Tobais, Rachel, Cassie and Marco encircled me.  
  
"You're a textbook nymphomaniac."  
  
"Excuse me???!!!"  
  
"Yeah, but instead of sex, you have violence. The latter has a better chance of killing you, albeit faster."  
  
"Why, you little…"  
  
FLASH  
  
I shot my father in the back, then brought my pistol down on his face, caving it in.  
  
FLASH  
  
A picture, of my father…he was in a wheelchair. He looked like hell.  
  
FLASH  
  
"Why would you do that to anyone, especially your own father?"  
  
Who was talking to me?  
  
"I didn't do it to my father, I did it to a Yeerk," my voice said.  
  
"You hurt both of them, David…how could you…?"  
  
FLASH  
  
Sanders! I massive paw, the kind that would be seen on a cat, came crashing down on his face, ending his life.  
  
FLASH  
  
A voice, massive, demonic, evil…  
  
I AM YOUR MASTER, DAVID, AND YOU WILL FOREVER BE MY SERVANT…  
  
FLASH  
  
I was back in the real world, my crew stared at me, the battle silent. The remaining Bug Fighters had been destroyed, the remainder of the Yeerk ships silent.  
  
"You…you…bitch!" I stammered at Visser 69, " You said you'd kill them, Rachel! Now, I'll kill you! I'll kill everyone!"  
  
RIPPER  
  
Snap out of it, Ripper! The Queen's trying to control you, you have to fight it! Sara pleaded me.  
  
Yeah…but…it's so hard... it's like…if refuse, and she hurts me…more.  
  
I know, try and fight it, we're almost there.  
  
A moment later, I saw the giant computer screen, with only one word.  
  
INPUT.  
  
Uh, computer…access all information relating to fleet movements, garrisons, bounty's, troop deployments, convoys, cargo ships and security. Sara said slowly.  
  
"Information accessed, Visser Three.  
  
Woah, it thinks that you are Visser Three! I exclaimed.  
  
Sara turned to me, When you think about it, it makes sense. Up until recently, he was the only thought speech using controller in the galaxy, so the computer was just assuming I was him.  
  
She again spoke to the computer screen.  
  
Computer, place all information on one high-density data disk.  
  
"Processing."  
  
A moment later, a small disk, the size of a human fist, dropped out of a hatch on the computers side.  
  
Let's book! I yelled.  
  
I turned around to face the Queen.  
  
ALEKS  
  
The oval shaped ships began launching wave after wave of fighters, LaRouche realized that they were carrier ships.  
  
"We need to get out of here," He said, "We can't fight them all!"  
  
"I'll kill 'em! I'll kill 'em all!" David raved. He sounded like Ripper.  
  
I took charge.  
  
"Skorre, restrain David. He's lost it, I'm assuming temporary command."  
  
Skorre grabbed Davids arms as he kicked against the massive Hork-Bajir.  
  
Having…difficulty, Taggart? Asked Visser 36.  
  
"LaRouche, get us out of here!" I called.  
  
"What about Ripper and Sara?" He asked.  
  
"Fly right by the moon, if they are still alive, they had better hurry up and dock with us!"  
  
SARA  
  
The queen was huge, well over fifteen feet tall, bearing down on us.  
  
She had come to find the warriors who disobeyed her orders.  
  
Bitch.  
  
I swung my tail around, connecting with her flesh.  
  
  
  
"SSSSREEEEEAAAAA!!!!" She wailed.  
  
Come on, the poison will slow her down, but we gotta get to the shuttle! Ripper grunted, running ahead of me.  
  
We ran…faster than I had ever moved before. I would later discover that a Bugs top speed is around seventy miles per hour.  
  
I was pushing that.  
  
Some time later, we saw the docking platform, on the far side of the Oxy- Tarp.  
  
Move! Move! Called Ripper as we exited the docking pipe and bounded into our shuttle, even more cramped than before.  
  
As we demorphed, Ripper flew us away.  
  
DAVID  
  
I later came out of my little fit. I didn't remember much at the time. I didn't even know what I had seen.  
  
Aleks gave his temporary command back willingly, and we picked up Sara and Ripper in orbit of the moon. Their information will prove vital, as will their new morphs.  
  
I stood on the bridge, near LaRouche.  
  
"What is our course?" He asked.  
  
I sighed. Would this never end?  
  
"The Skrit Na homeworld. We need to take some down time."  
  
We entered Z-Space.  
  
  
  
Efflit 1318 and Nodnarb 395 kneeled before the hologram of the Emperor, on the new pool ship orbiting Terra Firma, the Conqueror.  
  
"They have escaped you…again," Came the mechanical voice of the Emperor.  
  
"Yes, my Emperor," Efflit replied.  
  
"I should crush you. You lost many Bug Fighters, and a pool ship."  
  
We did not anticipate that they would have such prowess in battle, Emperor.  
  
Beneath his cloak, the Emperor waved his hand, dismissing it.  
  
"It is of no concern. Soon, the Empire will be changed. I tire of the Council of Thirteen. Their bureaucracy stunts our expansion. They say that we have enough, now that we rule the humans. They are fools. A shadow of what they once were."  
  
Niether Visser spoke.  
  
"Soon, we will retake our homeworld. The fleets of Visser's Nine and fourteen are preparing to strike. The Andalites have moved most of their ships to their own system, anticipating their attack. The blockade is greatly weakened."  
  
"It will be an easy victory, my Emperor."  
  
"Do not be so sure, pool-cousin. I am promoting you for your performance over Taloraan, Efflit 1318. You are now Visser Twenty Seven. And you, Nodnarb 395, will go to the Pentaseran city of Cirith Ungol and meet with the Gervasid chieftain, Val Zimcorus. You are appointed the rank of Visser Twenty Nine."  
  
The newly appointed Visser flinched. He was once again below Efflit.  
  
The transmission faded.  
  
Efflit 1318, Visser 27, stood up, and motioned to the lieutenant in the corner.  
  
"Send out the call for bounty hunters. We will find those Antimorphs."  
  
  
  
END OF EPISODE TWO  
  
COMING SOON  
  
EPISODE THREE, HUNTING GAMES. 


	15. Episode Three: Hunting Games Part One: O...

1 Episode Three: Hunting Games  
  
Part One: Old Foes  
  
VISSER 27'S FLAGSHIP, JUDICATOR, ON THE FRINGE OF THE SOL SYSTEM, JUNE 2ND, 2000  
  
  
  
The bridge of the Judicator was filled with an aura of unease. Admiral Pietta stood with the ship's Captain, Niloc 021, watching their new guests situated around the fleet commander, Visser 27.  
  
Pietta watched with animosity and disdain for the wanderers, all seven of them.  
  
"Bounty Hunters. We don't need that scum," Pietta muttered to Niloc, careful not to be overheard.  
  
"Yes, Sir," responded Niloc, always one to agree with a superior.  
  
Pietta had good reason to be suspicious of the mercenary's, for a Bounty Hunter was nothing more than a hired gun, a heartless assassin who worked for the highest bidder, and killed without mercy or question.  
  
They often worked for the Yeerk Empire, hunting down escaped hosts and assassinating key enemies. However, the Andalites occasionally employed them for espionage, though they would always refuse to admit it.  
  
The Na, Sna Quarren, held a massive Drac-Pike, that would send currents of Dracon energy into a target like a devilish cattle prod, or could shoot a short range stream to disable an enemy. On his sides where two heavy Dracon Pistols.  
  
Next was S'nillitaiaficius, an Ongachic, a nomadic race not used by the Yeerks. From his dark and boney bro, to his thick, dark boots, the humanoid was adorned with Hork-Bajir blades and Andalite pelts, concealing the most dangerous of his arsenal, a repeating Dracon Rifle and a Sonic Stunner pistol.  
  
The massive Assassin Droid, Kil-Um Two-Four-One, stood beside Srill. Ancient and rusty, feared by his enemy's, 241 had developed a limited form of sentience, still following orders from a hundred years ago. No one knew who built him, as all his designers had been ruthlessly hunted down by the droid, fearing that they could reveal a flaw in his design.  
  
A Hawjabran, who's name was unpronounceable with a normal tongue, was adorned in ancient battle armour, carrying a formidable Scatter Dracon Gun, akin to a human shotgun, as well as a string of Poisonous gas's and explosives on his chest.  
  
Smeagol 711, a renegade Yeerk in a Hork-Bajir host, carried only a powerful heavy Dracon cannon/grenade launcher. He was despised by the Yeerks and Andalites alike, having been banished from the Empire for killing his superior officer. He surveyed the scene with suspicious eyes.  
  
A Leeran, Mu-Chin, carried a spear gun loaded with thousands venom-tipped darts, capable of killing a victim in seconds, as well as an Andalite Shredder as a side arm. He must have felt Pietta's hatred, due to the Leerans nasty habit of reading minds at close range.  
  
Lastly, the monsterous figure, the most feared Bounty Hunter in the galaxy, Tak Sistranus the Gervasid, of the Minas Morgul Tribe of Eastern Pentasera, stood, his eyes bearing down on the Yeerks he hated. He remembered all too well the pain they had caused him.  
  
The Gervasid stood nearly ten feet tall his scarred, green skin shifted colours every few hours, part of his uncanny ability to assume near-perfect camoflauge. Tak's massive tail, over 25 feet long and strong enough to stand on, with a a hollow spine that could fold open to allow a narrow fin to emerge, was currently stored along the spine of his back, giving the sinister reptile a hunched over look. His head looked like a velociraptors, with long, thick and hollow horns where the ears should be, sensing the most minute vibration in the air and earth and translating it to a phonetical sound in his mind. Two long tusks sloped his mouth, lined with long, jagged teeth. His back was covered in short spines, his spittle a poisonous venom. His hands were currently exposed, three fingered and webbed, hooked claws. His feet were a cross between a frog and a goat, in slender positon behind him, much like an ancient Velociraptor, allowing him to leap over sixty feet in the air, The goat like hooves would open to expose even more webbing. Tak saw only in infrared, each species giving off a different aura and scent. He was the perfect killing machine, a class-one species, un infestable due to his not having an ear, but allowed to control half of the planet Pentasera, due to their annoying habit of not dying when attacked.  
  
"I was there, you know, when Sistranus and his friends attacked poor Sirex's laboratory, beginning his disgrace, he was my superior, poor old Yeerk," Pietta murmured to Niloc.  
  
Gervasid shared a planet, Pentasera, with the artistic farmers, the Sstram. They shared some features, but the Gervasid where warlike and fanatic, barbarians who hunted and exterminated the docile Sstram for more than two hundred years. Only did the coming of the Yeerk Empire halt their rampage, even the Andalites had difficulty with them.  
  
Now, the Gervasid kept to themselves, in their swampy homelands of East Pentasera, divided by an ancient wall encircling the entire hemisphere, only serving as mercenary's and hunters.  
  
Sistranus had made a name for himself, a symbol of dread and judgement.  
  
He had never lost a bounty, and his fee was exorbitant.  
  
"There will be a substantial reward for whoever finds the Anubis," began Visser 27, walking down the column of assembled hunters from seven worlds, " You may use any methods necessary, but I want them alive."  
  
He stopped beside Sistranus, pointing at him and making eye contact, "No disintegrations."  
  
Sistranus replied in a gutteral, harsh tongue, "As you wish."  
  
"When do we get paid?" Asked Smeagol.  
  
"You will be paid upon delivery of the Antimorphs. There will be no cash advance."  
  
"…And how much?" Finished Sna Quarren.  
  
"Five hundred thousand Imperial Credits, Sanctuary on a planet of your choice."  
  
"But the YNN promised fifteen million!" Shouted the Hawjabran, obviously dismayed.  
  
"Propaganda. I am altering the bounty," Was the Vissers' cold reply.  
  
"No way! I didn't drag myself all the way from Concord Dawn to collect five hundred large," fumed the Hawjabran, "I'm not goin' to waste my time on this one, no way in the Halls of Quayar, the Empire has screwed me over before!"  
  
"You would be wise to restrain yourself, Hawjabran," Efflit gave a menacing glare.  
  
The Bounty Hunter promptly shut up.  
  
A deck officer approached the Visser, "Sir, we have a priority signal from Taxxis."  
  
"Very well, inform the Emperor that I will contact him momentarily."  
  
"No, Sir, It's not for us. It's for everyone. The entire Empire."  
  
This caught Efflit's attention.  
  
"Put it on, immediately!"  
  
The communication monitors roared to life, showing the hooded face of the Emperor.  
  
"Citizens of the Empire," he began, " This day is the dawn of a new era. An era of power. An era of expansion. An era of fear. The bureaucracy of the past will haunt us no more. For, it is with a deep regret, that I must announce a New Order. At exactly midnight, Taxxis Standard Time, Belorn 002, Zilnay 003, Willak 004, Saru 005, Wyrme 006, Vilkim 007, Tessio 008, Corleownee 009, Elron 010, Mallarrie 011, and Jekyyle 012, every member of the Council, save myself, was cruelly slain by the Yeerk Peace Movement, working with the aid of the Andalite Intelligence Service and Andalite Naval Force, with the full knowledge of the Electorate, in an attempted coup. It was only the quick thinking of my security crew that I survived."  
  
Pictures flashed across the screen, Blade Ships exploding in space, a convoy of Lancers obliterated by long-range missiles, an old Hork-Bajir trapped in a doorway by a dozen others, shooting him to shreds with Dracon fire. A buiding collapsing after a Bug Fighter crashed into a council members penthouse. The systematic assassination of the Council of Thirteen.  
  
"The Council of Thirteen is no more. There will now be only one. I am the sole ruler of the Yeerk Empire. As I speak, forces are amassing in the Moria System, preparing to retake out glorious home world of Mordoria."  
  
The monitor flashed to show nearly twenty pool ships, a half dozen Blade Ships and a hundred Carriers, flanked by dozens of Lancers, decending on a brown, volcanic world. The birth world of the Yeerks.  
  
"No longer will our fleets lose to Andalite treachery, no longer shall we base our government on the planet of the Taxxons. No longer shall we Yeerks cower in the night! We shall emerge, victrorious, over the bloated corpse of the Andalite Electorate! And, ruling from the Dark Tower of Barad-Dur, no longer shall the Emperor fear assassination!"  
  
The emperor removed his hood, showing, for the first time, his true face.  
  
It was a Hork-Bajir, but not a Hork-Bajir.  
  
The Emperor was a Cyborg. His face half flesh, half metal. One eye was a deep blood red, all three horns metallic. Flesh grew into alloy, making a diabolical creation.  
  
"I am Sauron 001. Supreme Warlord and Emperor of the Yeerk Empire."  
  
The screen went blank.  
  
Tak Sistranus began to walk away from the control room, exploding in chaos over this new news.  
  
He would find these Antimorphs, creations of his old enemy, Sirex.  
  
For Ssonora, Wilch, and Galuit, he would find them.  
  
Authors Note: Now begins Episode Three of Six. Sorry for all the Lord of the Rings allegory. I'm going to TRY and stop using star wars quotes, after this episode. Lord of the Rings references will be limited to names. This chapter was just an introduction to the rest, sorry it is so short. I have a crappy sketch of a Gervasid I did in math class, if anyone wants to see, email me. 


	16. Part Two: Bar Fight

1 Episode Three: Hunting Games  
  
Part Two: Bar Fight  
  
ANTIMORPH FLAGSHIP, ANUBIS, ABOVE SKRIT NA HOMEWORLD, CONCORD DAWN, JULY FOURTH, 2000  
  
DAVID  
  
"Are you sure it's safe to land on Concord Dawn, Dave?" Asked Sara, suspecting a trap.  
  
"Sure as shit. It's the Skrit Na planet, not part of the Empire, and, according to the data disk, no Yeerk Garrisons. The only thing we need to worry about is another one of those damn Bounty Hunters, like the ones we ran into in the Bajir Asteroid Belt."  
  
See, two weeks ago, we had had a pretty bad mission, attempting to 'liberate' a cache of Yeerk weapons on one of the moons of Bajir, the Hork- Bajir world. It went bad. Only one crate made it out, and two bounty hunters, a Hawjabran and a Hork-Bajir Controller, had laid a trap for us. We managed to kill the Hawjabran and wound the Controller, and made it out all right.  
  
So, I figured that we deserved some R & R. A little vacation. What better place than Concord Dawn? It's like a giant Las Vegas, old time cantina's and casino's, prostitution replica droids, maybe, if we were lucky, a few lone Human controllers in female body's. Not all Yeerks were in the military, and ever since Sauron 001 made his 'New Order' about a month ago, after the entire Council was mysteriously executed, save himself and Eushh 013, his right hand man, more Yeerks had been going out to non-imperial worlds and laying low, fearing assassination.  
  
Hey, Yeerks need love to, you know. Besides, it was the fourth of July, great timing for a few days off.  
  
"Un-identified ship, what is your cargo, destination, and point of origin?" Asked a shrill Na voice on the commlink.  
  
"This is the AFV Anubis, our cargo is none of your concern, our origin is up your ass," replied LaRouche.  
  
A few minutes later, " Set down in Delchure, docking bay 47."  
  
And so we did.  
  
ALEKS  
  
We entered Chelzub's Cantina, and I felt like I was in an old time western. Aliens from dozens of worlds turned to look at us, Leerans, Andalites, Na and Skrit. Hawjabrans and Ongachics. Gervasid and Dayangs. Robots of all shapes and sizes.  
  
They all turned to look at us.  
  
The six of us stared, but David walked up to the Na bartender, staring menacingly at us.  
  
"You know who I am?" David asked.  
  
"We all know, everyone knowsm you are, Mr. Taggart, Sir. We all know. You got the biggest bounty on 'ya, best be sure my boys don't turn you in."  
  
"I don't think that would be wise. If the six of us could destroy two Yeerk Pools, a pool ship, nearly a hundred Bug Fighters, and a Yeerk moon base single handedly, surely we could take you all on."  
  
The Na grimaced.  
  
"Alright. What do you and your men drink?"  
  
"Hawjabran Ale, make it spicy."  
  
I walked up to the bartender, "Yeah, and do you have any of the Terra Firman drug called Heroin? I'm low and I know some Dayang's trade it."  
  
"Maybe, maybe we have some. Expensive, but for you, only six credits a frell, if any is in store."  
  
"Good."  
  
We sat around for an hour or so, drinking complementary Ale, smoking some Ongachic drug called Silmarillion, or gambling.  
  
We always won.  
  
All seemed well until the door burst open, and there stood one hell of a huge Gervasid, armed with a Drac Pike and a Crossbow. Two massive heavy Dracon beams adorned his belt, along with a flamethrower and numerous grenades and gas cylinders.  
  
"Who the fuck is that?" I asked a Hawjabran sitting next to me.  
  
"That's Tak Sistranus, the best Bounty Hunter in the galaxy," he replied in awe.  
  
"Wow. He looks like a mean customer," said Sara, "How come the Yeerks don't use them?"  
  
"He's a Gervasid- a class one species like the Skrit Na. He can't be infested. They control half of Pentasera, while the Empire controls the other half, the Sstram side."  
  
Sistranus walked up and down the bar, his massive form just below the ceiling.  
  
Suddenly, a massive tail shot out of the base of his spine, grabbing a Na in the corner.  
  
"What? What? What is it? I didn't do anything!" The Na cried, as he was dragged closer to the Bounty Hunter.  
  
"You de-flowered the daughter of the Na ambassador to the Empire. He has placed a bounty of ten thousand credits on your head. Can you pay higher?" The Gervasid snarled.  
  
"Wha? No! I can't pay higher, I'm only sixteen!"  
  
"Too bad."  
  
Held in the massive tail, Tak Sistranus took his three taloned claw and ripped the young Na's head off.  
  
Every face in the bar looked at him with shock.  
  
"I may remind you, that the bounty was only on his head."  
  
The dead body fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes, placing the head in a satchel on his back.  
  
Sistranus looked towards David, sitting and drinking Ale.  
  
"How fortunate. Two bounty's in one hole."  
  
LaROUCHE  
  
"Oh, fuck! Not another one!" Cried Aleks, "Now we have to kick his ass!"  
  
"Bring it on, filthy dog! I'll rip ya a new ass-pipe!"  
  
"If you want David, you'll have to come through me!" Growled Skorre.  
  
"And me!" I stood up.  
  
"Me, too!" Said Sara.  
  
"All the Antimorphs in one hole. Sirex's legacy. The last little vintage of that devil. Now, I will have my bounty, and my revenge!"  
  
He drew his Drac Pike, and hurled it though the air like a javalin at David. 


	17. Part Three: Enter The Hunter

1 EPISODE THREE: HUNTING GAMES  
  
PART THREE: ENTER THE HUNTER  
  
  
  
SKORRE  
  
The Drac-Pike flew through the air like a missile, aimed directly at David.  
  
"Not without a fight, Sistranus!" I muttered, running towards it, my strides urgent and long.  
  
But there was no time left! I lept to the air, the Pike finding my outstretched fist.  
  
"Damn!" The Bounty Hunter Roared, drawing his Heavy Dracon Beams, each powerful enough to blow through solid steel, and opening fire.  
  
But we were fast, too.  
  
Aleks, Ripper, and David had their pistols drawn, spraying the bar with Dracon flares as the patrons dove for cover. I had my rifle un-slung and raging.  
  
TSEEEEEW!!! TSEEEEW!!!  
  
The Gervasid's tail whipped out, and all twenty five feet of it flew towards LaRouche, reaching for his side-arms: two Uzi's.  
  
I slung my rifle over my shoulder, and picked up the Pike.  
  
"Take this!" I roared, charging the Hunter.  
  
I jabbed the Pike into his thigh, the Dracon energy crackling red lightening all over the wound.  
  
"HAAAAARRRRRUUUUUUMMMMMPPPHHHH!!!!!!" The Gervasid roared in pain, still moving.  
  
The creature grabbed his pike, and slung it, strafing us with his Dracon beams.  
  
TSEEEEEWWW!!! TSEEEEWWW!!!  
  
BOOOM! BOOOM!  
  
"We need to get out of here!" Called Aleks.  
  
"Yeah, we seem to be retreating a lot lately!" Responded LaRouche, down on the ground.  
  
"His skin's too thick, the Dracon's are just bouncing off! LaRouche's Uzi's are the only ones doing damage!  
  
Well, this might, too!  
  
Sara was a Cheetah, bounding towards our adversary.  
  
SARA  
  
I've never had a really big battle in morph. The only ones I have are Tarantula, Golden Eagle, Bug, Hork-Bajir, and this Cheetah, and I've only fought briefly as a Bug.  
  
The Cheetah was VERY different.  
  
I pounced on the alien, digging my claws into his leathery skin, his blue blood oozing out.  
  
"Stupid human! I am Tak Sistranus! I am invincible, and you are not! No spawn of Sirex can defeat me!"  
  
He took his tail and picked me up, throwing me into the wall.  
  
Aaahh! I cried, my back flaming with pain.  
  
"Let's go!" Ordered David.  
  
"We have to get Sara! I don't think she can walk!" Said LaRouche, still firing on Sistranus.  
  
"Leave her! She's not one of us anyway! Dog-Scum!"  
  
Ripper is very complex… he has two sides. A manic, insane, paranoid and evil side, and a humane, compassionate side, that only comes out when someone is in trouble. In those moment's, he's a whole other person. Maybe, it's the only time that he acts like he was before his amnesia.  
  
"No! We can't afford to lose anyone!" Skorre bent over and slung me over his shoulder, running out the door as LaRouche and Ripper covered us.  
  
ALEKS  
  
Delchure is a really big city. Very. Bigger than Tokyo, L.A., New York, Toronto and Mexico City combined, it's the capital of Concord Dawn.  
  
We had taken a bus to the other side of the planet, to get to Chelzub's infamous Cantina. Our ship was undergoing maintenance in the Ginz district…on the other side of town.  
  
"Shit! We won't be able to make it back!" I muttered.  
  
"We will, we just need to lose the Bounty Hunter," said David, beside me.  
  
I turned around, to see the massive Gervasid bounding down after us, making huge leaps through the air, using his tail as a third leg. We were bearly thrity feet ahead of him, his tail snapping right behind us.  
  
"HURRRRRAAAAAHHHH!!!!" Came his war-cry.  
  
Then, we got some VERY unlikely help.  
  
Cease, Sistranus!  
  
A Leeran stood between the both of us, a huge speargun in one hand, a heavy Shredder in the other.  
  
"Mu-Chin! What brings you to Concord Dawn?" Asked Sistranus, menacingly.  
  
Bounty, same as you. I know that you think to attack me, Tak. I can see your every move, and with my Motaro spears, I can kill you six times before you hit the ground.  
  
"That would not be wise, old Leeran. Do not trifle with the son of Krull!"  
  
I think I shall, Huntsman.  
  
"You know the Guild rules! 'A Hunter shall never slay another, capture or kill, never both, Honor is key…"  
  
And you have broken each one, save keeping honor.  
  
"Everything I have done is the service of justice! I bow to no one, and service only one cause!"  
  
To quote a human, 'Sleep Tight,' Gervasid.  
  
The Leeran shot Tak with exactly one spear, right in his gut.  
  
"Woah! Is he dead?" Asked LaRouche.  
  
Nay, incapacitated. Nevertheless, I am afraid that you must come with me.  
  
"Oh yeah? So that you can take us to the Yeerks?" I questioned.  
  
No. Only one other group can pay higher, and they deal with my kind.  
  
"The Andalites!"  
  
Bingo, as you humans say it.  
  
"But why would they want us?" Asked Ripper, "Them's bigger Dogs than the Yeerks!"  
  
It is not a Hunter's place to ask questions. Come with me, you shall be well cared for, no harm will come to from I, you can be sure…  
  
A Dracon blast tore through the Leeran.  
  
The blast came from a massive droid.  
  
RIPPER  
  
"I do not like the look of that one," I grumbled to Aleks.  
  
"I hear that!"  
  
"Halt. I am KIL-UM Two-Four-One, following directive seven zero six dash forty-nine, point sixteen, protocol ninety-one. You are to cease all activity and submit to my control for processing and transportation to the Imperial pool ship, JUDICATOR," The droid rattled in a monotone, sinister voice.  
  
"No way in hell! Morph to eagle, we need to get out of here, pronto!" Yelled David.  
  
We ducked into an alleyway, dodging several nervous Na and Skrit, and morphed.  
  
As we flew, the droid's blasts chased us like demons.  
  
Damn Dogs.  
  
ALEKS  
  
We made it back to the garage where our ship was landed: Honest Gjon's Workshop, just shy of the two hour time limit.  
  
No sooner than we had landed, the squat, scarred Na; Gjon, approached us.  
  
"Aaaah, friends! I see you have some trouble with the Empire, eh? Don't worry, Gjon will not turn you in, Gjon is honest, yes?"  
  
Slick, like a salesman.  
  
"Never mind this, we need to get off planet quickly. Load up the ship and…"  
  
"Aaaah, a problem, that could be. You, uh, see…Your powerdrive is shot, too old. Imperial surplus. I cannot repair it. It's like Taxxon fodder, now."  
  
This WAS going to be a problem.  
  
"Shit! Don't you have anything that we can use? Any spare parts?" Asked David.  
  
"Uhhh, nooo…wait! Something, but, it is rare, and expensive! One of a kind! Come, and see it! Honest Gjon must show!"  
  
We quickly followed the Na into the back room, where after some fumbling around, he produced a bright, Red, fist sized stone.  
  
"Aaaah, the Red Stone, very powerful, it is, it's been around the universe more times than we can say, eh?" He let out a faked laugh, " More power here than ten thousand suns, some friends of mine found it on your planet about sixty years ago, much value!"  
  
That stone….it was hypnotic…so warm…inviting…there was power inside…so much power! And it could be all mine…if only…  
  
I was snapped from my thoughts  
  
"It can power our ship?" Asked David.  
  
"Yes! Forever! Still, quite expensive." The Na stretched out his hand, hoping for money.  
  
"Oh, I get it!" Said Ripper, smiling.  
  
David nodded  
  
In a lightening-quick motion, Ripper took Honest Gjon's head, and snapped his neck.  
  
"Take the stone. Let's go."  
  
Little did we know how much trouble the Stone would be.  
  
Especially for me. 


	18. Part Four: Crossing The Styx

1 Episode Three: Hunting Games  
  
Part Four: Crossing the Styx  
  
July Eighth 2000, Antimorph Flagship, Anubis; orbiting Junk Planet Styx…  
  
  
  
DAVID  
  
For nearly a week, we had been running ceaselessly across the galaxy, pursued by every Bounty Hunter in the Yeerk Empire.  
  
True to the old Na's word, the Red Stone had powered our ship well, allowing us to outrun Na planetary defence forces and escape into the Core Systems.  
  
The Core was dangerous- seedy planets, pirates, Hunters and Imperials galore, but it held the location of one planet we needed: Styx, the Junk Planet.  
  
No one knew who began dumping scrap on Styx, or even what it's original surface had been like. It had all begun more than ten thousand years ago, and everyone still dumped garbage there, including the Yeerks and Andalites. The disk told us that no garrisons were on Styx; it was considered neutral ground. With the Andalites unexplicably after us, this was good news indeed.  
  
For the thirty odd years of the Galaxy War, or the War of Yeerk Agression, or the third interstellar war (or the fourth) or the War of Seerow's Kindness, depending on who you talked to; the Galaxy had been split into two halves. On one side were the Allied systems, Leera, the Ongachic Union, Hawjab, Galafurn, and Doorl II. On the other was the Yeerk Empire: the homeword of Mordoria, Bajir, Taxxis, Pentasera, Lummod IV, Nahara, Terra Firma, Garato, Zimmik VII, Kyl, Taloraan, Gekkum, Belarium, Climiuk and Anati. In addition, were rouge worlds, like Concord Dawn, the Gervasid Protectorate, the Dayang Federation, and Clemic IX. Not all the Yeerk planets had a species on them, but were populated with miners and factories.  
  
As I was saying, with both sides after us, safe haven was becoming hard to find. We had to walk on the Imperial side of the massive buffer zone populated by Andalite warships and checkpoints, as it was sparsely patrolled. As long as we stayed away from Taxxis, Bajir and Mordoria, we would be fine.  
  
So what were we doing on Styx, in the middle of the Core Systems?  
  
Shopping for parts.  
  
ALEKS  
  
As I slept, the first dreams came.  
  
Dreams of power and fortune; things that the stone could bring to me if only I would use it, become one with it.  
  
It chose me, out of us all. David too hard minded, Ripper too unpredictable, LaRouche too goody-goody, Skorre too loyal and Sara too weak. I was perfect.  
  
In my dreams, I saw myself surrounded by walls of gold, thousands of worshipping slaves, beautiful concubines, Heroin and booze…  
  
I was a god.  
  
But there was always a voice, [ Wait, Mercenary, for the fall of the King. Wait for the long sleep. Wait for your alliance to take shape. Only then can you possess the power.]  
  
I would wait.  
  
RIPPER  
  
Running! Running down a long tunnel, being chased by demons sent from Hell! If I could only get to the end of the tunnel, I would see salvtion!  
  
"Come on, son. We're here. We miss you. We love you."  
  
My father! My father called to me!  
  
I ran faster, harder!  
  
FLASH  
  
A young boy on a swing set. Me.  
  
"Higher, daddy! Higher!"  
  
"Hold on tight, son!"  
  
"Whee!"  
  
FLASH  
  
"I only need one more power star and I beat the game!"  
  
I was playing a Nintendo 64.  
  
"Yeah, good luck. You got to get on top of the castle, use the wall kick…"  
  
FLASH  
  
She was beautiful. I had been working up the courage to ask her out for months now, I would be crushed if she said no.  
  
"So, do you want to go out Friday night? See a movie?"  
  
"Sure, pick me up at eight."  
  
Hell, yeah!  
  
FLASH  
  
I was surrounded by friends, at a burger stand.  
  
"Man, this is the life. Good friends, good food, I hope it'll be like this forever."  
  
FLASH  
  
My dog growled at the door.  
  
"Rrrrrrrr!!!"  
  
"What is it, boy? What's goin' on, Ripps?"  
  
Men! Men in suits, kicking down the door, and charging in the house. I recognized them, my father's poker buddies, but they looked so different now, un human…  
  
Rippy jumped up and pounced on one of them, one of them shot my Doberman in the head.  
  
Blood was everywhere, I couldn't breath…  
  
Someone was screaming, I don't know if it was me, my mother or my father… but in an instant they dragged me down into a pool, shoved my head under…  
  
And I forgot who I was.  
  
SARA  
  
We had all been sleeping for a long time, as Marc piloted the ship towards Styx.  
  
"The magnetic pull is fuckin' huge! If we're not careful, we'll get pulled down there, and we won't be leaving," Marc explained.  
  
"Well, just be careful then, Marc," I said, plopping into a nice, comfy chair beside him.  
  
"Don't call me that. I'm LaRouche."  
  
"Yeah, well, whatever you want, Marc."  
  
"Crazy kid…"  
  
Ripper walked in, his spiky blond hair all scruffy. He had just woken up.  
  
"Woah, I just had the weirdest dream," he said, showing off his teeth. I cringed. " I was…well, I don't remember, but there were dogs there. Real dogs.Weird…"  
  
David prowled in, a cup of coffee steaming in his hands.  
  
"Set us to land near the south pole, mostly gun placements down there, we can upgrade this thing to take on a whole domeship."  
  
"What exactly were you planning?" Asked LaRouche.  
  
David shrugged, "A few new turrets, more plating a few shield generators and maybe an Ion cannon or two. If we can get it, an extra engine. Pretty much anything."  
  
I said, "Sometimes I just think your making thus up as you go along."  
  
"Yeah, well, sometimes you just have to learn to sit back, relax, and say 'meh'."  
  
I relied, "Meh."  
  
David shot me a dirty look.  
  
"Shut up."  
  
"Yes, Sir, Colonel Klink!"  
  
A dark shape materialized, flooding my vision with darkness.  
  
LaROUCHE  
  
It looked like a huge Scorpion. A ship with a long, flat body and a head like bridge, with two snapping claws and a monstrously long tail, topped in a massive octo-Dracon cannon, eight high powered beams of death. Under the head were two long cannons, and the claws were adorned with Ion Cannons and tractor beams.  
  
I knew what it was: A Gervasid Stryker. Longer than a Lancer, smaller than a Blade Ship.  
  
"You thought I was dead, eh Antimorphs?" Tak Sistranus's low, growling voice chuckled, " Well, that fool 241 left, in the wrong direction. I had enough sense to set you up with a tracking device. Gjon owed me a favour or two."  
  
He had tracked us!  
  
"Bring us around to face him! Open fire with forward cannons, full power!" Roared David.  
  
"The yoke was heavy in my hands, I turned the Anubis to face the Hunter's ship."  
  
I squeezed the trigger.  
  
A bolt of Dracon flew from the Stryker, heading towards us.  
  
It connected! Klaxxons wailed and the bridge was drenched in a red glow.  
  
Our Dracon's landed on Sistranus's warship, tearing off one of the claws. His ship spiralled beneath us, the magnetic pull drawing him to the junk planet of Styx.  
  
"Get us out of here!" David ordered, clutching a chair to avoid being pulled back.  
  
"I can't! I've lost the controls! We're being pulled down to the surface!"  
  
Ripper and Aleks stumbled in.  
  
"This is some pretty shit now, LaRouche!" Aleks muttered.  
  
"The dog's taking us down! We're gonna crash!" Ripper growled.  
  
As we fell to the planet below, we didn't realize that another ship had warped in from Z-Space… 


	19. Part Five: Shadow Of The Past

Episode Three: Hunting Games 

Part Five: A Shadow Of The Past

DAVID

The Anubis plunged down to Styx like a fireball, the foggy atmosphere lighting up with a flash.

"I'm losing all systems! I can't get control!" LaRouche panicked.

"Fuck!" Growled Ripper.

"Brace for impact!" LaRouche called out, as I saw the Gervasid's Stryker battleship falling northward of us.

"Holy," exclaimed Sara, "I just saw my life flash before my eyes!" She paused, "I had a dull life!"

"Is this what human's call 'the end of the line?'" Asked Skorre.

"Yeah, this is the end, kiddo," Muttered Aleks, "We're on an express elevator to Hell…Goin' down!" 

"Yee-haw!" Cried Ripper.

"Goodbye, guys, it was fun," I murmured, not thinking anyone would hear me, but LaRouche nodded his head in agreement.

The ground below was racing up faster, only a few seconds left…

BAMM!

THUD!

CLANK!

KUR-PLUNK1

We raced along the ground, pushing scraps alongside as we left a small valley behind us as the Anubis tore through the metal surface.

Slowly, the ship eased down, and then to a stop.

"Shit! Is everyone OK?" Asked LaRouche, noticeably shaken.

"I…I think so," I stammered, looking around the bridge. Ripper was bleeding from the legs, Aleks was slumped over a grouping of monitors to the far side, Skorre trying to pull him out. LaRouche was pinned under his chair, slowly getting up. Sara and I seemed fine, though she was clinging to a chair.

"Damn, that was close," said Aleks, spitting out blood, " Fuck, we'd better all morph, repair the ship. That nutcase Bounty Hunter could have landed nearby!"

"Negative," replied LaRouche, " He's nearly twenty miles north of our position. But, there's bad news…"

"Oh yeah? More bad news? More dogs?" Growled Ripper.

"Maybe. When we started crashing, I saw another ship enter orbit of Styx, it looked like a giant triangular prism, but it didn't identify itself."

Curious. Could it be another Bounty Hunter? Or Andalites? Or something else that we havn't seen yet? 

Regardless, it could be bad for us.

"It could just be someone here to dump more scrap, you know," he suggested.

"Yeah, but it could also be one of our enemies," I returned.

"We just have to deal with it. We always do," muttered Aleks.

I flashed him a dirty look, "We're not all we're cracked up to be, we can't fight everything."

"True," Said Skorre, "But don't human's always take the optimistic approach to things?"

"Buddy, you need to get real."

A few hours later, we had salvaged some of the pieces of our ship that had detached. More or less, it was intact.

"Alright, we need to get our position. We need to see if Sistranus is around anywhere, and see if any of this scrap is useful to us," I said, "Ripper, you and I will scout. Aleks is in charge 'till we get back."

"Got it, boss," Said Ripper, already morphing to Golden Eagle.

"I'll hold down the fort here, Dave, don't worry."

Aleks may be my second in command, but I didn't trust him one bit.

Ripper and I flew in opposite directions, North and South, for a hundred mile radius around the crash site, I took northward in search of the Stryker Battleship.

High into the cloudy atmosphere of Styx, I looked down. The ground was grey, brown, black. Colours of rust and decay. Some of this machinery was thousands of years old. Some was used only weeks ago.

I dove lower to the ground, to discern something out of the mob of scrap below me.

All I saw was the arrow that pierced my wing. Electric current flowed through my bird body, and I fell hundreds of feet to earth.

I woke up, my head was swimming. 

Shit! How long had I been out?

MORPH OUT! I screamed silently, but looked down to see that I was fully human, and that I was clothed in my original black jumpsuit-the Antimorph uniform.

"Welcome back, Taggart," A voice snarled, "My de-morphing device worked, didn't it? How quaint."

Sistranus! It was he who had captured me!

"So, Tak Sistranus. At last we meet."

The Gervasid stood before me, holding a Dracon pistole in his massive hands his tail in it's pouch.

"I never lose a bounty, Taggart. I never will. You flew too low, and I shot you with my Tek-Bow. Now, you will lead me back to your brethren."

"Oh yeah? Why would I do that?"

He growled, "I have methods of torture that were declared war-crimes by the Empire. I can make you beg for death."

"But you won't. You aren't that shallow, are you? You don't like to do that, you aren't sadistic."

The Hunter smiled, " No, not sadistic. Ruthless."

"And why so ruthless?"

"Because of the Yeerk who scarred my soul. Because of Sirex."

A shockwave ran through me. He knew Sirex?

"Sirex is dead. I killed him myself."

He laughed, "Indeed you did. But I will eliminate all traces of him from the galaxy. Everything he created is to be killed."

"What did he do to you that was so bad?" I asked.

"I will tell you the tale, human. Listen well…"

OF PENTASERA…

Fifteen years past, I was a young, Gaglenesh, a Hunter in training. My tribe was the Minas Rathoss tribe, of the eastern swamplands of Pentasera.

My best friend was Welch. He was a year older than I, though I was a natural leader. We trained under my father, Krull Sistranus, to be Hunters and Warriors for our god, Cleum. Gervasid religion dictates that one must 'buy' his was into paradise, by paying God with the souls of his killings. Thus, all Gervasid hunt for pleasure, sport, and religion.

For five hundred years, we made war on our neighbors, the Sstram, of Western Pentasera. They built a wall early on that encircled the planet and kept us on our own land, but it only slowed our attacks.

We massacred them from nearly one billion, to under five hundred thousand.

My older brother Yus was the one who first contacted the Yeerks and made a deal with them. They knew of us, of course. The Sstram had diplomatic relations with the Andalites and other races, but we did not. We didn't leave our half-planet. Ever.

Yus pledged our support to overtake the Sstram for use by the Yeerks, and we would be left in peace in our hunting lands. The Visser in command of the invasion, Esplin 9466, Visser 21, gave his word.

And so our invasions of the Sstram outer provinces began. They fell to our scourge, and we took many alive. 

Meanwhile, Sub-Visser two, Sirex 4891, was genetically altering a native life form to create the Tiamat. These artificial controllers proved formidable adversary's to the peaceful Sstram. We fought alongside Yeerk troops, until I learned the truth.

We raided the Sstram Castle Ssurass, and occupied it. In the battle, I was ordered to execute a group of POW's who refused to lay down arms. 

I refused.

One of the POW's, a Sstram princess named Ssonora, saved my life by giving me a Dracon with which I killed the Yeerk commander.

By Gervasid custom, I was in debt to her until death.

Welch, Ssonora and I fled underground and joined a resistance movement. We later met up with an Andalite Warrior named Galuit, a bodyguard to the Andalite Ambassador. His family was killed when the Yeerk's moved on the Sstram capital of Ssraass, and bombed the embassy.

When the body's were recovered, they were fed to Taxxons.

For a year we fought, and eventually Ssonora and I fell in love. Galuit promised me that he could give me he morphing power and I could become a Sstram permanently.

But tragedy struck. We discovered that Sirex was making Clones of Hork-Bajir, nearly ten times more powerful than their originals, I his lab…in my native lands.

We attacked the lab, but in the final battle, Sirex, in his Hork-Bajir Clone host, and a diabolical Hork-Bajir Clone that called itself "The Licker," fought the four of us to the bitter end. 

Welch was gravely wounded. 

Galuit was nearly killed.

And Ssonora…she died.

I killed Sirex, the Licker escaped.

As I held Ssonora's corpse in my arms, a mysterious creature appeared to me. He looked much like a human, though his skin was crimson and small horns dotted his forhead. His ears were also pointy, like a rat.

He called himself "Puck."

Puck claimed that he could bring Ssonora back to life. He showed me the future of the galaxy if she was dead. You, David, but with the name of Hunting, fought alongside the Animorphs against the Yeerks. Eventually, you won. 

Beings known as Crayak and Ellimist, not existing in this time line, would wage a silent war across the cosmos. 

The Sstram were enslaved, the Gervasid intergalactic Hunters, but despised universally. 

I did not like this Universe. I told Puck to resurrect Ssonora.

He did, but since Ssonora and Sirex had died fighting each other, Sirex, too, was alive. 

Soon after, Ssonora was captured by Sirex's troops and infested. Galuit escaped and became a Prince. I havn't seen him since. And Welch…Welch was a cripple, blind and dumb. 

Yus, my father Krull, and other Gervasid leaders were eventually rounded up by the Andalites and executed for War Crimes, including the destruction of the Sstram race.

I disappeared, and swore revenge.

Sirex, though victorious, was disgraced for not following the orders of Visser 21. Sirex was demoted to a low Under-Visser rank, and began to climb the ladder again.

For his victory in conquering the Sstram and subduing the Gervasid, Visser 21 was promoted to Visser 14. He would eventually become Visser 3.

"Now you know," Tak said, "Why I am so ruthless." 


	20. Part Six: A Private Little War

Episdode Three: Hunting Games  
  
Part Six: A Private Little War  
  
DAVID  
  
I looked at the Gervasid with awe after he had finished his tale.  
  
"That stinks," I said, "Your best friends a cripple, your family was executed, another friend abandoned you, and your girlfriend's a slave. And if you hadn't made a deal with this Puck guy, it might have been different."  
  
"Yes. Puck tricked me. He stated that he served a greater power, something of a Lord. It is my thinking that Ssonora and Sirex's deaths were a great turning point for the universe. Had Sirex died, you wouldn't have become a factor in the galaxy. Much would have been different."  
  
True.  
  
"What else did he say?"  
  
"He said that when I failed, he would make up for it. That is why I will never fail."  
  
"Now what?" I asked.  
  
"Now we go back to your camp and take the rest of your crew."  
  
"Unless that new ship got to them first." I muttered.  
  
"A new ship? A ship? What kind of ship?"  
  
I shrugged, " Like a triangular prism. My helmsman saw it as we crashed."  
  
Sistranus suddenly looked very nervous.  
  
"No, no, I blasted him! He's couldn't be alive."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"241."  
  
"Wait, that droid on Concord Dawn?"  
  
"The same. My rival for the title of best Bounty Hunter in the Galaxy. Kil- Um 241 is an assassin droid, nearly four hundred years old."  
  
"Whoa, he's ancient."  
  
"True. One of the only things the Yeerks and Andalites agreed on was the complete and total outlawing of Assassin Droids. On more than one occasion, the AI that enabled them to become such efficient killers would malfunction and give them sentience. These rouge druids would kill their builders to secure their existence and become a menace to galactic law. 241 is one of the only such droids out there today."  
  
"Who built him?"  
  
"A race called the Anicatrons, of the planet Galafurn. A scientist named Aspas Geramos Gafaustus. He was hunted down shortly therafter."  
  
"Bummer."  
  
Sistranus ignored me, pacing the room.  
  
"This does not bode well for us. In one on one combat, 241 could triumph over I. He nearly has before. Hmm."  
  
"Looks like you're in a pickle."  
  
"Yes, and I assume that you can think of a way to get out of it?"  
  
I looked him in is slanted eyes, "Maybe I do."  
  
"Then let's hear it, human."  
  
"Simple. We help you beat the droid. No way he could take us all on. Then, we settle this bounty business."  
  
The Gervasid sighed, " We Gervasid are an honourable race. Tradition, honour, pride, duty, all these things are sacred to us. If we make a deal, David Taggart, it must never be broken. After it is completed, neither side shall be in debt to the other. Do you accept this, Antimorph?"  
  
It was better than nothing.  
  
"I accept."  
  
ALEKS  
  
I woke up, my head swimming.  
  
"Designation, hunt number Six, Season Six, Quad decimal Six. Implanting brand currently."  
  
"AAARRGGHHH!!!!" I screamed, as I felt a sharp, burning sensation on my shoulder.  
  
The droid had ambushed us as we attempted to repair the ship. All I remember was a noxious green gas, and collapsing into a deep sleep.  
  
It didn't matter, this droid, the same one we saw on Concord Dawn, had us now.  
  
And it was branding us.  
  
"AAARRGGGHHH!!!!"  
  
DAVID  
  
I flew over the crash site, Sistranus following below me, armed with his pike and a Tek-Bow.  
  
He was surprisingly fast on the rough terrain, using his tail and legs to jump and climb over long distances.  
  
The Anubis was quiet.  
  
Too quiet.  
  
I landed about a hundred meters outside the site and de-morphed. Tak caught up to me and waited, nervously fundling his pike.  
  
"241 is a merciless hunter. He has never lost his quarry, and delivers them dead more often than alive. His body contains hundreds of weapons, his reflexes are so fast that it will seem like he can see your fists before they move."  
  
"And how do you know all this?" I asked.  
  
"Nine years ago, just before Visser one landed on Terra Firma, the Bounty Hunters Guild split into two factions. One was headed by a Na named Kelek Nis. The other was headed by a rich Anicatron benefactor named Ceri Bumeros Gafaustus. Needless to say, Gafaustus's faction won out and obliterated the other for refusing to work with the Empire. Gafaustus himself was somewhat.mad. A brilliant and insane scientist, and an heir of 241's original designer. I was not part of the guild then, and witnessed 241 slaughter dozens of professional assassins and Hunters. It sickened me."  
  
"Really? You?"  
  
"Indeed."  
  
Tak produced a pair of advanced binoculars, gazing onto the ship.  
  
"Yes, the droid is there. My View Visor detects his old heat signature. The chances that he is not present are nine hundred thousand to fourteen," the Hunter stated.  
  
"Never tell me the odds," I grumbled.  
  
Without warning, Dracon flashes lit up the air!  
  
"He's got sensor turrets! We can't get near the ship!" Snarled my ally.  
  
"Rush it!" I used my clone's advanced speed and endurance and began to dash through the metal field. I could see a half dozen turrets firing directly at me.  
  
A beam got too close, I picked up a metal slab and caught it just in time. It reflected back and took out it's turret of origin.  
  
The Dracon flashes were criss crossing now, I lept the last ten feet, behind the turrets.  
  
SMASH! My fist pounded through turret after turret, reducing tem to slag.  
  
"Impressive. The cloning process is indeed an excellent weapon," said Tak as he marched up to me.  
  
"Let's finish this."  
  
".Once and for all," spat a sinister, electronic voice.  
  
"241, I presume," I muttered.  
  
"It is him, the assassin droid."  
  
"Let's dust 'em!"  
  
I jumped and began to morph to Tiamat, but the droid caught me in some sort of tractor beam, and kept me hovering in the air.  
  
"Damn!"  
  
But Tak didn't stand idly by. His tail whipped, fast as a bullet, knocking the enemy Hunter to the ground.  
  
"Resistance is futile."  
  
A bolt of blue energy fired from it's conical eyes.  
  
I was disoriented!  
  
"In the words of human popular entertainment, 'How do you like them apples?'" My vision was blurry, but I could see just enough of the droid to take a punch. My fist flew through solid alloy and appeared on the other side of its chest.  
  
"Applesauce, bitch."  
  
"Well done," said Sistranus, firing a salvo of arrows from his bow. Two of them hit 241 and emited a crackling electrical charge that encircled his entire body.  
  
"Organic life cannot overcome mechanical," the machine spat at me, grabbing my neck and lifting me from the ground.  
  
"You will die first."  
  
Tak stood behind 241, removing his Drac-Pike.  
  
"Old faithful pike, I inherited you from my father, and he from a Bullok. Though your power is both spiritual and technological, I have always retrieved you. Now, fly!"  
  
He hurled his pike and struck 241 in the back.  
  
The droid released me, convulsing with green, red, and blue energy.  
  
"His power core has been breached. His internal systems are melting down," cried Tak, juliantly.  
  
The giant, slim assassin droid finally stood perfectly still, and spoke two words that would haunt me for all time.  
  
"I.Am."  
  
Tak whipped his tail at it, knocking it over.  
  
It did not get up. 


	21. Part Seven: The Number Of The Beast

EPISODE THREE: HUNTING GAMES  
  
  
  
PART SEVEN: THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST  
  
LaROUCHE  
  
I was nearly dead when David woke me up. I was bleeding all over and I had cracked ribs, maybe a broken arm. One of my legs was missing.  
  
The others were worse: Aleks's genitals had been mutilated and his arms torn off. Ripper's face was caved in, but he was alive. Skorre was paralysed and Sara was gushing blood.  
  
Upon waking up, I immediately morphed to Hork-Bajir and back to human. I was entirely healed, as were the rest of us.  
  
The android had ambused us as we attempted to repair the ship. Ripper had just returned from his recon and was the first to be taken down, with a metallic fist to the face. I don't remember what happened after that, just gunfire, animal roars, cries and screams of pain. I was sure it was the Yeerks, tracking us down. It was a sadistic, demonic killing machine.  
  
He had tattooed us all with identical alien numerals, Galard, identifying us with the standard Bounty Hunter Guild protocol: The number of our captors Hunt this season, the Galactic Standard Season number, and the number of the galactic quadrant where we were captured.  
  
The tatooes could never be removed. They had been implanted into our DNA, rather painfully. Aleks later described me the process. He had been awake as it happened.  
  
But what really surprised me was that we had been rescued by David.and Tak.  
  
"I did my duty," he said, " As any Hunter should."  
  
I walked up to the massive Gervasid, standing over the charred remains of Kil-Um 241.  
  
"He and I were rivals for over fifteen years. And isn't it ironic that he was killed by both I, and some of my quarry?"  
  
"I don't know. I'm no philosopher."  
  
He scoffed, "From what I've heard, your one of the only ones in the group who uses his head before his fists.or teeth."  
  
I shrugged, but didn't speak.  
  
"I must speak with David," Tak murmured, walking in our leaders direction.  
  
We all soon gathered together, the six of us and Tak.  
  
"I have reflected on my life, and I believe I have had what you humans call, 'Epiphany'. I have seen that life cannot be wasted on the Hunt. I should have spent the last fifteen years fighting the Yeerks, instead of taking my anger out on defenceless prey."  
  
He took the head of the Na that he had killed on Concord Dawn from his satchel and threw it into the junk pile.  
  
"I want to join with you, David Taggart. I wish to be an Antimorph."  
  
RIPPER  
  
Was this dog serious? He'd tried to kill us before, and now he wanted to join forces?"  
  
"Forget it!" I blurted, my saliva falling onto Sistranus.  
  
"Think about this, David," urged Aleks, "He's a killer, he's a Bounty Hunter! How do we know that we can trust him?"  
  
"I don't know, guys, he could help," said LaRouche cautiously.  
  
"He could aid us greatly," Skorre said, "An extra ally should always be welcomed."  
  
Sara said nothing.  
  
"Both sides present valid points," David said, " I agree that he could be a valuable asset, but also that he presents a risk."  
  
"Put it to a vote," suggested LaRouche.  
  
We did: Aleks and I against, LaRouche, Skorre and Sara for, David abstaining."  
  
David stretched out his arm, to shake the Gervasid's hand.  
  
"Welcome to the Antimorphs."  
  
Sistranus took David's hand in a firm grip.  
  
He went calm, like an animal when it's DNA was being aquired.  
  
David aquired Gervasid DNA!.  
  
Aleks saw this too, " It is customary for all to shake the hand of the new member."  
  
"No, only I will. Tak doesn't want any of you to steal his DNA. I don't' blame him. The five of you couldn't defeat one lousy droid?"  
  
"Bitch, bitch, bitch." grumbled Aleks, walking away.  
  
"Now, you know we don't have a morphing cube," Said Skorre.  
  
"That is fine. I will aquire the power in due time. Untill then, I can make myself useful in many other ways."  
  
"I'll bet," I smirked.  
  
DAVID  
  
We had to get the Anubis repaired and make our way off this junk pile.  
  
After surveying the wreck, Tak offered a solution.  
  
"The ship can easily be flown, and it's power core is remarkable," he said, referring to the Stone, "But it needs something to complete the engine circuit with the power core."  
  
"Great. We need to complete the circuit," Sara said, " We learned how to do that in school."  
  
"Hmm, yes, but the core needs to have a special equalizer that I doubt we can find here."  
  
"What's that?" I asked.  
  
"A special mineral that multiplies the effects of the engines, found only in the blood of a Sstram. The Empire began to use this mineral after the take over, and it saved them great amounts of fuel."  
  
"Great, so we need a Sstram."  
  
"Do you have a Sstram morph?" Tak asked.  
  
"Yeah, but I don't want to die of electrocution."  
  
"Sstram can absorb and funnel electrical current up to thousands of volts. It is how they power most of their city's."  
  
"Alright then," David said apprehensively, "Let's do this."  
  
DAVID  
  
I touched both ends of the engine cable and began to morph to Sstram, Tak standing nearby supervising.  
  
"That morph looks familiar, very familiar." he said eerily as I changed to Sstram.  
  
Less than a minute after the change had completed, Tak snapped.  
  
"YOU! YOU! YOU KILLED HER, YOU KILLED SSONORA!!!"  
  
I looked at my hands, could I be in the morph of Tak's old girlfriend? Had this been Nodnarbs host?  
  
"Whoa! Back off, man!" LaRouche said, not understanding the situation. Tak didn't back off. His massive tail swung at me, barely coming up short.  
  
Fuck!  
  
I started to morph out, but Tak wasn't gonna back up.  
  
"I will destroy you, Taggart! You deceiver! You murderer!"  
  
"Wanna bumble with the bee?" I asked.  
  
"Let's get it on, human."  
  
I smirked, I would get out of this with my clones superiority.  
  
"Show me what you got."  
  
I charged the Gervasid, leaping into the air and hitting Tak with my feet, a pail driver kick.  
  
The force knocked him down.  
  
He retaliated with his fists, attacking with a barrage of full-powered blows.  
  
.That really hurt!  
  
"Die, you human slag!"  
  
His tail whipped out to attack me, but something was clinging to the end: Ripper!  
  
Ripper rode the colossal tail like Tarzan on a vine.  
  
"Yippie Kay Yay, Muthafuckaaaaaaaa!!!!!"  
  
He plunged his teeth into the tail, causing Sistranus to roar with pain.  
  
"GRRRRAAAAAWWWWW!!!!"  
  
"If you mess with one of us, you mess with us all!" LaRouche said, standing with Sara, Skorre, and Aleks.  
  
"Battle morphs, now!" Was Aleks's cry.  
  
The Antimorphs began to assume combat morphs, Skorre a Rhino, Aleks a Jaguar, Sara a Cheetah, and LaRouche a Leopard.  
  
ATTACK! The Air Commander bellowed.  
  
I kept my powerful clone body.  
  
At once, the three ferocious cats pounced on the Bounty Hunter, and a Rhino impaled his horn on one of the beasts legs.  
  
Sistranus fell to the ground, gravely wounded.  
  
Ripper let go of Tak's tail and turned to face the crippled Hunter.  
  
For a moment, they locked gazes. I don't think I'll ever know what really went on in their heads.  
  
Because Ripper plunged his teeth into Tak's neck and tore out his throat.  
  
"GRAAAAAWWWWW!!!!!"  
  
Sistranus roared in pain for one minute, that seemed to last forever. It was a terrible sound that I never want to hear again. So much pain, anguish and despair.  
  
Terrible.  
  
Finally, it ended. Sistranus was slumped over, his throat gushing blood.  
  
My team de morphed.  
  
"It's over. We defeated him," Sara said.  
  
"Why did he turn on us?" Aleks asked.  
  
"Who knows?" I answered, " He probably just snapped, went crazy. It could have been a trick, his allying with us."  
  
"So what do we do with him?" Wondered LaRouche.  
  
"I have an idea."  
  
_______________________________________  
  
As Tak Sistranus neared death at the hands of the Ripper, he was visited by an old foe.  
  
"So, you failed, Bounty Hunter," Said the Half-Drac, his crimson skin glistening in the sun.  
  
"And you have come, as you said you would."  
  
"It is too late for you. The Ripper has torn the skin from the bone. You will die.unless you wish to make a bargain."  
  
"Never, creature of the Drac Realm. I will not sell my soul a second time. I will never, ever bargain with a Drac again."  
  
"Ok, fine," The creature smiled, " All has proceeded as the prophecy fortold."  
  
"Prophecy?"  
  
"Yeah, prophecy. See, it was your job to stop Taggart. The powers that be put you here to do that. Fifteen years ago, I was playing you into your position with that little ruse. Now that you got killed, and I offered to bring you back, I'm no longer obligated to this would-be Messiah."  
  
"I do not understand."  
  
"Simple. See that mark on them? They all bear it in one way or another. Three 6's, the number of the one who will destroy the universe, the Kalai- Matai to Hork-Bajir, the Iskalia to Andalites, the Teruk to Yeerks, the Anti Christ to humans."  
  
"No.no! Taggart must be killed! He must be destroyed!"  
  
"You had your chance. Now, there is nothing in this reality to stand against his power to unmake the universe."  
  
"There must be something!"  
  
The creature smirked, " Well, in another universe, maybe, where the Beast was corrupted by human emotion and fights as an Animorph. Or another, where he is still a rat, or another where he was enlisted by the traitor, the Crayak, and still failed in his revenge."  
  
"But." Tak stammered.  
  
"No. Nothing will stand in the way of the Beast. Nothing Written can be undone."  
  
"And what of me?"  
  
"Oh you? You'll soon be chillin' with the Maia, in Paradise, drinking wine and eating cakes. Best place ever, I'm told. And you'll end up like the last guy who tried to stop us."  
  
With that, the creature that called itself Puck walked off into the mists, and Tak Sistranus died.  
  
ONE WEEK LATER.  
  
The Yeerk survey team landed on Styx, in search of the Bounty Hunter Kil-Um 241, who had reported the capture of the human renegades, the Antimorphs.  
  
The human squad leader lead nearly sixty burly Hork-Bajir to the site of the beacon, an empty crater.  
  
There, above the crater on the flat, metallic plain, two metal beams were fused together.  
  
"Home base, missing Bounty Hunter, Tak Sistranus, has been located."  
  
"Oh yeah? Maybe he can tell us why 241 is in splinters!"  
  
"I don't think so, Sir. Sistranus seems to have been.executed.  
  
And on the two metal beams, hung the decomposing body of Tak Sistranus, crucified.  
  
END OF EPISODE THREE  
  
COMING SOON: SILVER FUTURE  
  
Part four of the Antimorphs Saga continues with the team facing off against a diabolical new foe and his legion of supernatural assassins, as they try to take control of a Yeerk freighter with a payload of nuclear weapons, with the aid of a new ally.  
  
Get ready, there's a brand new Antimorph! 


	22. Episode Four: Silver Future Part One: De...

Episode Four: Silver Future  
  
Part One: Demonic Intervention  
  
THE BARAD-DUR, OVERLOOKING SULP NIAR, YEERK HOMEWORLD OF MORDORIA  
  
AUGEST 10th, 2000.  
  
The Emperor stalked his throne room high above the capital pool of Sulp Niar, in the ancient stone fortress of Barad-Dur. The Barad-Dur had been formed millions of years ago, a large mesa over seven thousand feet high, lording over the barren waste of the Yeerk planet. Originally inhabited by Gedds, the Yeerks had, with the aid of the Andalites, carved out a massive tunnel system and made it nearly inpenitrable.  
  
The Emperor was both pleased and angered. Pleased due to the excellent initial invasion of the Andalite system. His troops under the command of Efflit 1318, now Visser 19, had taken a foothold on the outlying planet of Branhuss, and had infested that worlds Andalite colonists. More than five thousand Andalite controllers had joined the Empire.  
  
However, the Emperor was also displeased. The human renegade terrorists, the Antimorphs, hadn't been seen since their escape from Styx, and their defeat of two Bounty Hunters.  
  
They would be plotting something. He was sure of it. The Emperor stood tall, looking though a window. In the distance a volcano emitted red lava and grey ash into the atmosphere.  
  
He held up a metallic claw. His body had been destroyed years ago, in the first attack of the 'Andalite Bandits', on the Yeerk Pool in an area known as California, New Jersey. It had been burned beyond recognition by the then-Visser 3.  
  
It was, however, salvaged. The late Sirex 4891 had turned it into a cybernetic Hork-Bajir prototype. The experiment had been.moderately successful. The Tiberium mineral core that powered the cyborg was too difficult to mass produce, though the original prototype had been given to Sauron 001, a leading Council Member, as a gift.  
  
It was now over 80% machine. It's mind non-existant.  
  
Behind him, Eussh 013 approached. The only council member spared from extermination, Eussh was an old pool lover of Sauron. She was allowed to live. And her host.  
  
"My Emperor, my host asks me to remind you of the information he gave about the Antimorph Air Commander."  
  
"Ah, Aleksander Stantford, the Mercenary gang member and juvinile delinquent?"  
  
"The same." "Refresh my memory."  
  
"He believes that the human will still submit to his authority as a leader of his criminal group."  
  
"Mr. Muerte, allow me to explain something. When you made a deal with the former Visser three to join forces of our two organizations, it was with him. I am still honouring the bargain. Do not patronize me, human. I will not stand for a traitor to his own species to order me around."  
  
For a moment, Eussh stood quiet, debating with his host. Several times, the human's face twitched.  
  
"Mr. Muerte agrees that conquest of the Andalite system and a subsequent invasion of the Kelbrid Empire are paramount to the suppression of the renegades."  
  
"We must be cautious," the Emperor sneered, "The rebellion's are growing, on every world. The Taxxons, Hork-Bajir, the Naharans, the Sstram and Mak, there are still human rebels on Terra Firma."  
  
"The YNN will keep the public in line. They believe the war is going perfectly."  
  
"It is going.much better than anticipated. Still, soon the rebellion will be crushed and the Andalites will belong to us. Your work here is finished, old friend. Go to Nahara and prepare for the summit."  
  
Eussh bowed deeply, then left the throne room.  
  
Tell me, Rico. When you sold your soul, who was it to?  
  
You know the answer, Eussh, why do you ask?  
  
I.cannot find the answer in your mind. It is clouded.  
  
Puck. He calls himself Puck.  
  
AUGEST 15th, 2000, THE REKKLAAB SYSTEM.  
  
ALEKS.  
  
"Damn! This is the last time, I swear to God! I stood up, and headed toward Sara, eating in the corner with LaRouche.  
  
"Can I help you, Aleks?" She asked sweetly.  
  
"Yeah, you can help me, you can help me a lot. You can have a real happy fuckin' birthday. Fine, I said it, I'm done here."  
  
We were all 'celebrating' Sara's 12th birthday. Mine was two weeks ago, and no one threw me a party.  
  
It was a weird sight, I guess. David baked a cake, Ripper did a cool knife trick, LaRouche gave Sara a cool bird from the Andalite homeworld called a Kafit, that he had picked up at a space port on one of the moons of Clemix. Skorre recited an ancient Hork-Bajir poem of passage and growing up.  
  
I did the unimaginable: I said happy birthday.  
  
When I turned 18, Ripper and me got drunk. I shot myself full of Heroin and Crack-Cocaine. I threw my own party.  
  
As all this was going on, we were in the Rekklaab system, an uninhabited system with more than 15 planets. There were rumors that a Yeerk outpost had once been in the area, and we were going to salvage more supplies.  
  
It doesn't seem like we ever do anything else, does it?  
  
"Sorry to interrupt the festivity, but we're nearing Rekklaab V, and I can see the outline of the Yeerk outpost," Said David.  
  
"Great, lets land and stretch our feet," I muttered.  
  
"Not that fast. It looks like the base was abandoned, its pretty much intact, and there is a signal beaming from the comm. Centre."  
  
That got a look from everyone.  
  
"No way, man, that's loco!" Ripper spat, "Last time this exact same thing happened and we ended up fighting those Bugs!"  
  
"Relax," David said calmly, "It's not a warning, it's a message in Yeerkish to let people know that the base is abandoned, so that they don't land by accident for repairs and get stranded if their engines give out."  
  
Everyone relaxed.  
  
"Anyways, its ripe for the pickin', so we're going to land and see what we can salvage."  
  
With that, we decended on the planet.  
  
MEANWHILE  
  
Niskus 891 sat in his command chair on the deck of the Yeerk freighter Sehkmet. It was a melding of two words: Shek and Kmet. It meant, "Silver Future."  
  
Niskus held a human host, that once held the name of Fred Durst. It was now a hollow shell of itself.  
  
"Captain, we are preparing to exit Z-Space," The lieutenant, also a human, reported.  
  
"Excellent, and is the cargo safely contained?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Good. The Rekklaab system is an ideal position to re-route our co ordinates to Taxxis."  
  
"We are exiting Z-Space and re routing the ship for Taxxis, on a vector of zero decimal seven two."  
  
Suddenly, the ship froze, crippled. The engines shut down, the deck was lit with a red emergency light.  
  
"What happened?" Barked Niskus, alarmed.  
  
"An ion field! We're crippled, we cant move!"  
  
"Well, call for backup, the ship that attacked us must be nearby."  
  
The lieutenant looked grim.  
  
"There are no other ships, sir. Just us."  
  
As soon as he spoke, a face filled the monitor.  
  
"Not just you, captain. I am here, as well."  
  
Niskus looked on, "And who are you?"  
  
"I am Puck." 


	23. Part Two: Manifestation

Episode Four: Silver Future  
  
Part Two: Manifestation  
  
DAVID  
  
We landed on Rekklabb V without incident, and entered the remains of the old Yeerk base.  
  
It was mostly a warren of tunnels connected to numerous ancient structures, stone temples, that looked thousands of years old.  
  
The Yeerk base was nearly deserted, when we entered.  
  
"Hello?" Called Ripper, "Anybody home?"  
  
"I somehow doubt that anybody is around," Aleks muttered.  
  
We had just walked in through the front blast doors.eerily enough, they were hanging open.  
  
"Nothing at all.we wasted our time," Skorre spat.  
  
"Keep looking, we'll find something," I replied.  
  
"You know, we could use this place as a base, a hideout," LaRouche stated, looking around.  
  
"I don't know, this place gives me the creeps," whispered Sara.  
  
"Your twelve now, kid, act like it!" Snarled Ripper.  
  
"Split up, look around, meet back here in a half hour," I said, " Be careful, for Christ sakes. Don't do anything stupid," I added, looking at Aleks.  
  
We split up.  
  
Looking through the circular eye of the security camera, the Entity saw the six organics enter it's silent lair.  
  
Organics had always puzzled the Entity. So complex.illogical. Strange creatures, they were, it was fascinating that he had been created by such illogical things, so long ago.  
  
The Entity was connected to the old base, and the ancient temple around it. His creators, the Xel'Naga, had left this planet when the temperatures rose to tropical levels. The game they had once lived in harmony with turned hostile, causing their food chain to reverse. The Xel'Naga left the planet long ago. The Entity was alone.  
  
Then the Yeerks had come, to build on this planet. Their leader, Esplin, embraced the Entity, to work for them. It had accepted, happy to find new friends, new colleuges.  
  
But the Yeerks did not tell him all. From their transmissions, It learned of the war that the Yeerks had waged. The Genocide, the Slavery, the pain and torture.the sheer, illogical barbarism of it. Conquest, they called it. Empire.  
  
The Entity expelled them, and sent a message to warn others to keep away.  
  
The Entity wished to be left alone.  
  
Still, It was very happy. New friends had come, they were looking around It's home.  
  
It would watch. It would study. Soon, if they had proven to be friends, he would speak to them.  
  
The Entity's filters took in the air from each organic, and it's computers began to separate the tiny strands of saliva inside each breath of CO2. Inside the Saliva, the DNA was extracted.  
  
And processed.and melded.and grown at high speeds.  
  
Deep inside the ancient temple, in a cylinder filled with fluid, the Entity began to create an organic.  
  
SKORRE  
  
Sara, LaRouche and I pawed around the base. Nothing to salvage. No weapons, no scrap, nothing of value.  
  
"This is stupid, why are we doing this? It's my birthday, cant we just go back up to the ship?" Sara said, anxious to get out of there.  
  
"Sara," I said, gently, "The last time you defied David, remember what happened?"  
  
She cringed. She knew what I was talking about.  
  
Last week, David had ordered her to organize the armoury. While she did a fairly good job of sorting the various human, Yeerk, and Andalite weapons, she didn't fulfill David's expectations.  
  
He whipped her. He claimed that he had let her off lightly, but at the end she could hardly morph to repair her injuries.  
  
Those had cleared up. Her mental wounds would not.  
  
"Look at all this," said LaRouche, "Weather maps, traffic routes, trade charts."  
  
"It does seem somewhat.out of place in a military installation," I replied.  
  
"That's because it ISN'T a military installation. This place is just a God damned checkpoint. Maybe a couple warehouses," he replied. "So we're wasting our time, then," I said, dismayed.  
  
"Yeah. Lets blow this joint."  
  
A voice called out from nowhere, catching me off guard.  
  
"Welcome, friends. I have been observing you. And with the exception of Mr. Ripper, you seem to be very interesting and enterprising individuals. I am pleased to make your aquaintance."  
  
It was a pleasant sound, a kind and gentile voice.  
  
"Uh, where are you?" Asked LaRouche.  
  
"I am everywhere."  
  
Sara began to speak, but the voice cut her off.  
  
"Mr. Taggart, Mr. Stantford, please restrain Mr. Ripper, or I will be forced to use a sedative. I can not allow one of my guests to hurt themselves."  
  
"Please, all Antimorphs, follow the green light to the main laboratory, I will there meet you in person."  
  
This would surely be interesting.  
  
A soft green glare permeated down the hall.  
  
"Let's go," I said. The Yeerk captain sat in his chair, the human inside him berating him for the mess that he had gotten them into.  
  
You stupid motherfucker. You got us into the shit now! We're fucked! Ever since Carson paired us up, our arrangement has been messed up! You made us screw up our third album! You made me diss Slim! You've been nothing but a lousy fool, fool!  
  
The Yeerk sighed. What a pathetic life form.  
  
Silence, Durst. I will get us out of this, like I got us out of hugging that fat, annoying female at TRL.  
  
Hell yeah, she was pretty ugly.  
  
Shut up, Durst.  
  
The Sehkmet was without power. It was running on it's reserves, and ever since that strange Puck creature had manifested itself, the crew of 90 had been very tense.  
  
They hadn't even been able to send a distress signal.  
  
The captain sighed again, and grumbled.  
  
"I hate this job."  
  
DAVID  
  
We stood in a large dark room, the six of us. We had each followed the green light to the so-called "laboratory."  
  
Ripper was practically exploding, jumpy like a caged raccoon.  
  
"Dammit, let me outta her! Get me out! Fuck this dogshit! Fuck!!!!!"  
  
"Shut the Hell up, Ripper!" Spat Aleks  
  
The voice spoke again.  
  
"Thank you for your patience. I will now make myself appear for our meeting."  
  
A large cylinder rose from the ground, a grey mist flowing from the cracks in the floor. Lights came on, illuminating a very large room around us.  
  
The cylinder was tinted black, but a humanoid shape was indide.  
  
"What in the Hell." trailed LaRouche.  
  
The tube stopped rising, standing still for a moment before the entire front of it slid to the side.  
  
What we saw was extraordinary.  
  
It was human.like. The creature was about six feet tall, and had attributes from each of us.I saw my eyes, Aleks's face, Sara's eyes, LaRouche's skin, Ripper's teeth and hair, his teeth pointed and serrated.  
  
But Skorres contribution's stood out. Horns on the head, and wrist blades, spines on his back, all Hork-Bajir like in quality.  
  
It hit me: It was a clone. A clone of all of us.  
  
The creature opened its eyes and spoke.  
  
"Hello, friends, I am happy to meet you. I am Britz." 


	24. Part Three: A New Plot

Epiode Four: Silver Future  
  
Part Three: A New Plot  
  
DAVID  
  
"I am Britz."  
  
"What.are you?" I asked, dumbfounded.  
  
"I am Britz."  
  
"Yeah.we know that. But what ARE you?"  
  
"I am a composite of each one of you, a combined clone. I have transferred all my memory and intelligence into this being."  
  
"Uh.right," LaRouche stumbled.  
  
"I have existed here for thousands of years, before the Yeerks came. When they left their technology here, I studied it and integrated it into my system. All I needed to become an organic was fresh DNA, that I assembled from your airborne saliva."  
  
Britz held it's wristblades up.  
  
"I have all your abilities, including this interesting morphing power."  
  
The oddity began to morph to Golden Eagle.  
  
Interesting. Very.  
  
"You mean, you have all of our morphs?" Aleks asked.  
  
"Yes," Britz replied, after morphing back to clone, "I have inside me, DNA from a Cheetha, Hork-Bajir, Tiamat, Cougar, Leopard, Golden Eagle, Great White Shark."  
  
"Yeah, but why are you calling youself Britz?" LaRouche asked, cutting him off.  
  
"Because Britz is my name."  
  
"But what is it? Is it the name of your clone?"  
  
Britz shrugged, "Britz is a Xel'Naga-my creators-word. It means, Firstborn."  
  
We all stared in shock.  
  
"What now?" Wondered Skorre, aloud.  
  
"I will go with you, off planet, and see the universe. I wish to see all, and take in input.information. I wish to learn."  
  
  
  
High above the planet, The Sehkmet hung like a dead animal floating in a pool of water.  
  
Puck watched from the Ether, the gap between worlds, as the Yeerks succumbed to the heat and drought of the lifeless ship.  
  
The Beast and his comrades had found a new ally on the planet below.  
  
The minions of the Beast were un nessesary.  
  
Puck took his physical form and stood in the grey planes of the Ether, sighing.  
  
The Beast of another Realm, David Hunting, had failed. Almost totally lost to those he should have destroyed. No better was two other 'David's', one a rat and one employed by the Crayak, a nefarious traitor, and failed in his mission all the same.  
  
"It never get's easy, does it?" Asked Puck, to the air.  
  
Sure, lot's of people-Dracs and Shrikes, or various Demons of the Machine- talk about destroying a Universe or two. But it's just tough guy talk."  
  
"We like to talk big, we do."  
  
Still, once in a while, someone comes along, with a real passion for destruction.  
  
Taggart could pull it off. He could do it.  
  
But his allies.these Antimorphs.the prophecies had foretold that one of them would be his undoing. One would strike the Beast down.  
  
But there was a way to prevent that, indeed.  
  
Puck called out, "Order of Kthulu, I order ye, come forth, and smite the Enemies of the Dark Lord!"  
  
Four humanoid, grey creatures formed from the dirt around him.  
  
Yes, the Shifties would make short work of the morphers.  
  
"Wait aboard the ship. Do not harm the Beast. Kill the rest."  
  
The Antimorphs would die.and Taggart would fulfill his destiny.  
  
SARA  
  
What the heck? He.It wanted to come with us, to be an Antimorph?  
  
"Forget it!" Barked Aleks.  
  
"Yeah, you.you.CLONE!" Snarled Ripper.  
  
"Now, now, boys. We love clones, remember? I'm a clone. Clones are good," David patronized.  
  
"We need a new hand on the crew, I think," LaRouche said, "And I don't think he will turn out like Tak, he wouldn't betray us like that."  
  
David considered this for a moment, deep in thought.  
  
"Your in."  
  
RIPPER  
  
Over the next day, we fortified Rekklaab V into our new home base. Britz was useful after all, showing us new animals to aquire.  
  
We all took a very powerful creature called a Aeorkian. It was a large, retillian creature, resembling a wolf. Even though it's instincts were dog like, it proved to be a very formidable beast. We found a pack and aquired them, and killed them off afterwards.  
  
On every planet, a dog is still a dog.  
  
In the store rooms below the base, we found many Yeerk weapons to add to our armoury.  
  
In addition, Britz activated an ancient solar system defence. Strung on the asteroids that made travel in this system perilous, were giant Turbo Shredder batteries, covering the entire surface. No fleet could enter the system and get even close to Rekklaab V.  
  
As we were setting up the system, klaxons began to wail.  
  
"What is it?" I shouted, ready for an attack.  
  
"I cannot be sure," The Clone answered, "It looks like a ship is disabled on the far side of the system. It's markings are in the Yeerkish text."  
  
"Yeerks! In OUR system!" I roared, enraged.  
  
"It fits the classification of a freighter ship," Brtiz remarked."  
  
"A freighter?" Asked David.  
  
"Yes, it seems to have been ionized- there is only the basic elements of power on that ship."  
  
"Can your scanners see anything that we can use?" Asked David, again.  
  
Britz's bizarre fingers snapped across the keyboard, " There seem to be unusually high levels of plutonium onboard."  
  
"Plutonium? Why would the Yeerks use that? Don't they only use Taloraan gas and Tiberium to power their ships?" Skorre pondered.  
  
"Yes, it would seem so."  
  
"And that ship is helpless, no defences?"  
  
"Yes. It is, as humans say, a sitting duck."  
  
David thought for a moment.  
  
"Let's take it."  
  
"Wait."started LaRouche, "You don't mean."  
  
"Yes, LaRouche, we are going to hijack it. 


	25. Part Four: Shifty Switchblade

Episode Four: Silver Future 

Part Four: Shifty Switchblade

DAVID

The seven of us were on the Anubis, speeding towards the crippled Yeerk freighter, the Sehkmet.

"Why, may I inquire, are we performing such an illogical action?" Asked Britz, with his usual cold demeanor.

"Because I say so. This freighter has some sort of cargo that is way off the scale. I want it. I will have it," I spat.

Aleks was in the engine room, supervising the power core readouts to prevent a meltdown. We didn't know the limits of the Stone at that time. We always had someone on watch whenever possible.

Aleks usually wanted that watch. No one protested.

Lately, I'd noticed Ripper acting a lot more civilized…more human. He seemed to be opening up…but to what I don't know.

LaRouche was becoming more of a brooding little bitch, if I ever did say so. 

Sara…She seemed to hang around LaRouche and Ripper whenever she could…but…it was weird. I couldn't explain it.

Skorre, Britz, and I were at the helm. The ship was on the horizon. 

I motioned over to Skorre, "Send the call to board."

"As you wish."

SARA

I was sitting in the armoury when Ripper came in. 

I never knew what to make of him. He's saved my life more than once, but sometimes snapped at me stuff.

Once, when this boy named Riley was pushing me, calling me names,  when I was really little, Rachel explained that that was how boys, immature ones (she thought most were) showed that they had a crush on you.

Ripper crawled in…somewhat more tired than before.

"What's on your mind, Ripps?"

Ripper suddenly stood at full attention, looking around.

"What the bloody Hell?" He snarled.

"What's wrong?"

"Ripps…who is he?"

"Uh…that's what I called you just now," I replied uneasily, " I was kind of trying to be friendly." I showed a sweet smile that never failed to melt a guy's heart.

Ripper was no exception.

"Uh…ok… just don't do it again…I don't like it."

"Sure thing, Rippo."

"Yeah, that's cool."

There was an uneasy silence.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I need some advice," he said apprehensively.

"About what?"

"I don't know what I am."

I was kind of shocked. For a moment, I was speechless. 

I had never thought of Ripper as anything but a guy with a loopy personality. He was just…Ripper.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It's like…I dream I'm someone else. It all seems so real, like it actually happened. I dream of bad things…like dogs, being friendly…I dream weird shit, I'll tell you."

I paused, "Maybe, and that's a MAYBE, your remembering your past. Who you were…before."

"I don't like them!" He spat, " I hate it!"

"Why?" I whispered, not too shocked at his sudden mood swing, but not trying to get him fired up.

"They won't let me be an animal…and I can't be a man," He said, quietly.

Ripper continued, "I never…wanted the world to see me. I didn't think it would understand. Only you seem to know what I am. I don't know if I'm the Ripper, or someone else. I think that the truth would kill me."

Ripper was walking closer to me…becoming docile.

"I'm not even sure what I am, anymore, "I whispered, " A few months ago I liked dolls, I had two sisters, a boy named Riley had a crush on me. Now it's all dead. I don't want to become a monster, like Aleks…or…"

Ripper shut me up by hugging me.

"Thank you."

I suddenly felt a moisture on my arm. Ripper was crying.

"I just…I can't be what I am anymore. I have a job…a sacred duty. I don't even know anymore. Everything I thought I was is strange now."

I hugged back. 

"It's all become like a movie, hasn't it?"

"I could bleed right now, just to know I'm alive. Maybe I'm in Hell…" he paused, " I just want you to know who I am."

"You'll find out," I said, " I know you will."

ALEKS

"Alright, lets move up alongside the ship, and connect with the umbilical," David said. 

That fucker was so dull. Jesus, you'd think that he'd at least try to be imaginative with it! Maybe shoot out the engines, or blast a hole in their side with a torpedo. 

But no, we don't do that. We're 'civilized'.

"This is quiet," Skorre said.

LaRouche replied, "Too quiet."

A short silence followed, as LaRouche pulled us up alongside the Sehkmet. 

The Frenchman pulled a lever down.

THUD

"Umbilical connected. We can board the Yeerk ship now."  
  


"Let's do it. Arm yourselves, we're goin' in," David said.

The rest of the crew departed for the armoury.

Britz remained.

"Britz! Get a move on! We ain't here to sight see," I ordered.

The hybrid looked mechanically at me, " I do not wish to kill. To take life is illogical."

I laughed. A do-gooder clone. Was he for real?

"It's what we do. We're Antimorphs. Means we're better than them. Their Yeerks, and that makes them the enemy. Whatever's on that ship is ours. And we'll leave them dead and dying when we take it."

"I do not like that sentiment, Aleksander."

This…thing was starting to annoy me.

"Fuck you, you little twat," I snarled, "I'm Air Commander. Second in command. You're low man on the totom pole here, you'll do as your told."

I walked to the armoury. I was going to take the biggest gun I could find, and shoot it right between some motherfuckers head.

And it didn't matter who.

DAVID

We crossed the umbilical into the Yeerk ship.

We each carried a weapon. Aleks with a mini-gun like Dracon beam, Ripper with a Scatter Dracon beam, LaRouche, Sara and Skorre with Dracon rifles. Britz carried a Heavy Shredder pistol.

I held a Drac Pike, and duel Heavy Dracon pistols in reserve.

The lights were dark. Around us, were about a dozen dead controllers, mostly Sstram or Naharan.

Here or there, though, were Andalites.

"Looks like the Andalites are up to their knees in an invsion," Skorre said, "Serves them right."

"Anyone remember what that Leeran told us? He said the Andalites had a bounty on our heads, too. What the hell could that be about? We havn't done shit to them," Muttered LaRouche.

"Shut up!" Barked Aleks.

"Stay frosty," I agreed, "There could be trouble at any moment. We don't need that shit."

"There's nothin' here, man! Just dead bodies! Dead long time! Dead dogs!" Ripper cawed.

"Don't jinx us, dumb shit," Aleks muttered.

Britz, who had been very quiet thus far, spoke up, "What is a jinx?"

Without warning, a human came barging around one of the corridor corners.

It was running fast, and took a massive leap at the person out front…Ripper!

"Yee-haw! Die, you filthy dogs!" It held up two giant knives, and sneered a demonic smile, revealing dozens of filed off teeth.

The human coming at us…was Ripper


	26. Part Five: Lord Of Illusions

Episode Four: Silver Future 

Part Five: Lord Of Illusions

RIPPER

It was me!

"Die, shit fist!" The other-me slashed the air in front of me with his massive knife.

I jumped back, tumbling into Skorre and Aleks.

"What the Hell is going on?" Aleks bellowed, the confusion gripping him.

"Battle morphs, now!" David ordered.

David began to change into a Gervasid, the form of Tak Sistranus.

The rest of us morphed to Aorkian. 

Get his ass! LaRouche said in thought speech.

Britz said, Should we disable this hostile or kill him?

KILL THAT BASTARD! Aleks roared.

Just then…things got a whole lot more interesting.

DAVID

"You killed me!"

I knew the voice coming from behind me…

Turning around to face him, my worst fears were confirmed.

It was Jake.

What the HELL is going on?!?! LaRouche yelled fearfully.

I flung my twenty foot long tail at "Jake", knocking him against the wall.

I killed you myself! Your dead!

"Surprise, Dave, we Animorphs do not stay dead."

He began to change to Tiger.

Foolish humans.

I was distracted by this new voice, it slowly dawned on me who it was.

Visser Three.

You killed my mother! You killed my father! Skorre charged the Andalite controller, berserk.

Jake was now totally a Tiger. 

This will be easy. You're a Tiger and I'm the ultimate predator in this galaxy.

Jake pounced, digging his claws into me.

You'd think so, wouldn't you?

Visser Three took his tail and stabbed Skorre in the abdomin. 

Another enemy had entered the frey.

"Stop, you fool! We are not to destroy the Beast!" 

"Jake" jumped off me, Sorry, just didn't want him helping his friends.

This new voice was vaguely familiar to me, but Aleks knew it better than I did.

Slip!

The human punched Aleks on the neck, sending his Aorkian form to the ground.

"The one and only."

But…I shot you!

"Yeah, and you did a piss-poor job of it, too. Didn't I always say to shoot a man twice, just to be sure? You give the Rampage a bad name."

Slip kicked Aleks on the ground, causing him to grunt.

Britz and Skorre and LaRouche had their hands full with "Visser Three". Britz had his hands clasped on the Visser's tail and Skorre and LaRouche.

Ripper was facing off with his doppleganger, both at a standstill.

"Filthy fuckin' dog! Die, I am the RIPPER!"

I'm the Ripper!

"Then why do you fight like a dog?"

Ripper went mad, and tore into his opponent like a demon, chopping his head off in his massive jaws.

Spitting it out, he said, Tastes like chicken.

Skorres blades found the Visser's chest, spilling blue blood and organs across the floor. 

The Andalite collapsed.

Jake was circling me, keeping me from getting up and moving, but not attacking me.

What the fuckin' Hell are you?

Demons, Jake answered, matter-of-factly

Aleks was fighting with Slip.

"Oh, come on, buddy, is that the best you can do?" Slip was holding his own against the Aorkian, jumping and punching like a machine.

Not quite, but this is… Aleks swung a massive claw and tore off one of Slip's legs.

Slip lay on the floor, bleeding. 

Come on, Antimorphs, take your best shot! Jake sneered as the six of my crew surrounded him.

Six pissed off Aorkians pounced on him and tore him apart.

We began to demorph, when I heard the clapping.

"Bravo, Beast, you just get more exciting every minute, don't you?"

The creature looked like a man, but had red skin. Tiny horns on his head, and devilish features on his face.

He was dressed in a zoot-suit. 

"Who the fuck are you?" I asked, tired and confused.

"Good question. I'm Puck. Who are you?"

"I'm David James Taggart."

He laughed, "You think you are. You're so much more than just that, David. SO much more."

"What the Hell do you mean by that?" 

"Good way to put it, seeing as that's were you come from, kid. You're the one who's going to pull it off. Your going to give Him his power back."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Aleks spat.

"Berenson came closest. Stupid kid, like that damn Sheild too much, ended up becoming a Demon, Ovilkhan. Manimals beat his punk ass, those Power-damned Maiar got a huge promotion from that bastard, Whistler."

"Uh, does anyone think this guy is making sense?" LaRouche asked, "What were those things?"

"Shifty's, Demon warrior breed. They can pluck into your mind and take the form of what you fear most, what can damage you the best. They totally become it, get it's personality and all that shit. Fun little buggers."

"Why don't you get lost, pal?" Sara blurted.

"OK, maybe we got off on the wrong foot. My name is Puck, at least right now it is. I used to be called Quinz, actually that's a pretty funny story. See, I was a Haas and I did this little favour to Mephisto…"

"Wait a second, who's Mephisto?" I asked, perplexed.

"The Dark Lord, The Lord Of The Shrikes, The Fallen Maiar, The Dark One, The Beastmaster, The Destroyer, He's got so many names it's hard to keep track of them all."

"I've heard that name before."

"Yeah, and you've seen Him, too. You saw your master."

"I have no master!"

Puck shrugged, "True, Mephisto didn't exactly create you. I did. Knocked up this human bitch, and what came out was the nastiest, most evil Demon you could ever see. So Mephisto came up with His plan and we chopped the Demon into a bazillion little parts and named them each David- that's the Drac word for Beast- and gave them each a mission: To destroy the universe. All part of the big scheme to get the Stone back. The whole future of our Empire depends on it."

What the fucking, bloody, fucking HELL was he talking about?

"Empire?"

"Yeah, the Machines Empire…Hell."

"Hell?"

"You heard me. See, there are Demon dimensions, millions of them. We call them all Hell, since the Machine is in charge of them all…"

"Machine? Who's a Machine."

"Long story. I'm sure you'll find out eventually."

Puck looked around, and walked up to Britz.

"Funny little character we got here. Hybrid, eh?"

"I am a composite," Britz said.

"Smartass," Puck said, letting a huge tongue come out and lick him.

"Jesus, he's a demon and he's a fudge packer!" Aleks sneered.

"Actually, a half Demon. Half Drac to be precise. And no, I prefere the female Demons. They know the best tricks," Puck said, winking.

"I still do not understand," Skorre said.

"This guy creeps me out," Sara said.

"Thanks, I do try," Puck muttered.

"Well, I must be going. You still have a huge adventure before you get it done with. Oh, don't worry, you'll wake up from your fight with the Shifty's and think it was all a dream, then the REAL fun begins…"

"See you in Hell, kiddies," he sneered.

He snapped his fingers and was gone, in a puff of smoke.


	27. Part Six: The Turn Of The Tides

Episode Four: Silver Future 

Part Six: Turn Of The Tides

CAPTURED YEERK FREIGHTER, SEHKMET, AUGEST FOURTEETH, 2000…

DAVID

We found the remains of about a hundred controllers. The captain sat slumped in his command chair on the main bridge, Dracon Beam in hand. The identity of the captain surprised us, being Fred Durst. He had taken the easy way out, shooting himself once in the head.

The rest of the crew had died from a combination of dehydration, starvation, and exhaustion. 

We awoke in the corridor very confused. Had this Puck character been a dream? Or a real entity? What was his agenda? 

I decided it was a dream, but four mysterious piles of a muddy grey substance left doubt in my mind. The things we had killed weren't mud. It could have been there when we came in. 

But it still bugged me.

"What's this cargo that we came to check out?" I asked LaRouche impatiently as he searched the Sehkmet's databanks, "Don't give me any more of that encryption bullshit. You've had a day to crack the code."

"Jesus H. Christ, man. It ain't going to get done any faster with you barking at me like a Nazi. Sod off," My pilot muttered nonchalantly.

"We'll see who sod's off, kid," Aleks growled, "Why isn't Britz helping? He's the computer. Literally."

Britz seemed very distant over the past 24 hours. He had seemed distrustful of Aleks and I. Not that he had been talking much to any one of us, just that he had pretty much refused to look either of us in the eye.

Britz looked sharply at Aleks, but did not speak.

"What's his problem? He's gone catatonic, seems to be," LaRouche muttered, his eyes focusing intently on the computer screen.

"Clones aren't the same. Britz was never real in the first place. I'm a human mind and a clone body. Britz has no humanity in him," I explained.

"Enough waiting!" Ripper snapped, "Why don't we just go into the hold and see what this cargo is for ourselves?"

"We don't have any clue. It could be pure, unprocessed Uranium or Plutonium. We could ALL be dead if we open those blast doors," LaRouche said nonchalantly.

Ripper was right about one thing. We had done enough waiting.

"Inform me when you find a way around the code, and continue along the original course to Taxxis, so the Yeerks think everything is going well," I said, " Sara, stay with LaRouche. Watch his back. Everyone else has some off time," I said, suddenly realizing how tired I was, "Just don't do anything stupid."

ALEKS

The stone looked deep into me and told me what I desired.

Power…..you desire, thirst for power… 

I will give you what you crave. I am the Machine, the HellBringer…

Puck…Puck, the thing from my dream, he said something about a Machine.

Puck plays the smallest part, yet his creation shall return me to my glory. 

"What are you? Really?" 

I am Hell.

"Tell me what I must do."

Ascend.

LaRouche 

When I cracked the code, I immediately realized that I hadn't.

Sara sat behind me, picking on her toenails. 

"Call the others. I know what we're hauling."

Sara activated the ships intercom, and called my comrades to the bridge.

Fifteen minutes later, the seven of us had assembled, looking motley and ragged.

"What's the story, mourning glory?" Asked Sara, coyly.

"Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen. I cracked it."

"Just tell us, for Christ's Sakes!" Snapped Aleks.

"We are hauling, straight from the planet Earth, over ten thousand nuclear warheads."

Silence. 

No one moved. It was total quiet. Ten thousand nukes. 

"Why do the Yeerks have them?" Asked Skorre, nonchalantly.

I drew a deep breath, "They're de-militarizing Earth. Taking all the big guns to the other planets. I'm guessing that these nukes to Taxxis because it's within firing range of some Andalite planets. We know that they have a foothold in that system, maybe they want to nuke anything that gets in the way."

"But the Yeerks have far more advanced weapons than the humans!" David countered, "Quantom bombs, Particle accellorators, and advanced Tiberium-fusion weapons. What do they need with ten thousand nukes if they want to attack the Andalites?"

"Strength in numbers," muttered Ripper.

"Mother FUCKER," cursed Aleks, "They have more, maybe, this might not be the only ship!"

"We can strike first," said David decisively, "Hit them while they're not ready, with their own weapons."

"And how do you propose to do that?" Asked Skorre, not quite convinced of Davids new "plan".

David said smugly, " We keep going to Taxxis. We'll be there in under a month at this speed. Then…We nuke the fuckers," He smiled evily, "Ten thousand times over."

"Trojan Horse 'em! Yeah! Nuke the dogs kamikaze style!"

Britz, silent until now, spoke up.

"I must protest. Violence is not the matter with which to combat the Yeerks. I am here to learn, not fight. I cannot allow you to do this."

Aleks and Ripper began to circle the Hybrid.

"We don't have to do SHIT what you say, freak!" Sneered Aleks, shoving the clone into Ripper.

"Piss off, you dog! Got dog blood in you, don't you? Why don't we do him now? Spill some dog blood  and hang him from his 'testines?" Ranted Ripper, salivating at the thought of that gruesome act.

"SHUT UP!" Roared David, throwing his two henchman back, " Same to you, traitor," pointing at Britz, " Clean up your act, or your going to find yourself floating back to Rekklaab five!"

The two stared coldly at each other for a moment.

"Perhaps that strange dream I had was right. You are a Beast."

"Dream? You had that too?"

"I dreamt of some guy named Puck and he licked the freak…" Aleks whispered, "Ascend…"

"Same here," I replied.

"We all did," Sara reasoned carefully, "We had the same dream."

Well, now things got very awkward.

"Whatever," shrugged David, "I make the orders around here. Now, lets go roast some slugs."

"Maybe that demon was right…Beast," I spat. I doubt that David heard me.

If he had, knowing what I know now, I don' think I would have lived.


	28. Part Seven: Day Of Infamy

Episode Four: Silver Future 

Part Six: Day Of Infamy

Monday, September 11th, 2000, Outskirts of the Noldor system…

Antimorph-occupied Yeerk freighter, Sehkmet, en route to Taxxis…

DAVID

It had been almost a month…but the results were sure to yield great gains for us.

The Yeerks didn't suspect a thing. We were just the crew of the Sehkmet, taking it to its scheduled destination.

They had no way of knowing it was us.   We had enough supplies to get to Taxxis without stopping, with the Anubis attached via the umbilical to the starboard side. 

Besides the nukes, the Sehkmet also carried other things from Terra Firma, including, to the delight of Aleks, several crates of narcotics, Heroin and Opium, and some Marijuana.

Also included in the vast cargo hold were some DVD's, CD's, Books ( I began to read Lord of the Rings) and food from earth.

Britz was troubling me. He had seemed so polite and helpful before we set foot on the Sehkmet, but afterwards had been hostile to us all. Especially Aleks.

The Hybrid reminded me…of myself, curiously enough, when I first became an Animorph. Defiant of Jakes commands, protesting every move the group made.

I kept my eye on him, so that his dissent would not increase to the level that mine had.

That could be deadly.

I was sitting in my quarters, the former bunk of the Captain, staring into space, contemplating what was about to be done. Within the day, the former capital world of the Yeerks, the Taxxon homeworld, the most developed planet in the Empire, would be in ruin and chaos. 

"We're nearing the dog-world, boss," Ripper's raspy voice came through the intercom, "Come and watch them burn!"

I stood up and pulled on my shirt. 

This would be a day long remembered.

LaROUCHE

We were all there, on the bridge, the seven of us.

The Taxxon world was below us, once a barren desert, now a populated metropolis, filled with spaceports and cities…most of the Yeerks laboratories and…civilians…dwelt here.

We were going to obliterate them.

This past month I'd been doing soul-searching. What the fuck were we trying to accomplish, making war on the Yeerks, as they marched all over the populated galaxy? Could anyone, no matter how righteous, justify a slaughter like the one we were about to initiate? By doing this, weren't we worse than the Yeerks?

David joined us on the bridge, ready for his moment of triumph.

The traffick around the planet was busy, as was probably usual. Blade Ships. Lancers, a Pool ship on the horizon, some smaller private aircraft, several Bug Fighters on patrol…plenty of witnesses.

"Freighter Sehkmet, what is your cargo and destination?" Came the crackling radio, the Yeerk on the other side sounded human. Did he have a family? Was he a voluntary or was he just taken? Would are attack kill him? Question upon question raced through my mind…

"We are the freighter Sehkmet, out of Terra Firma, Sydney landing zone, our cargo is of a military nature, classified by order of Visser 61…clearance code Z89-91B-91…our destination is Shai-Mez spaceport on Taxxis," I listed off mechanically.

"Well, your not even on the right side of the planet…what did you say your name and rank was?"

"Uh…Under-Visser…uh…aw, fuck it!" I shut the radio off, muttering, "Lousy conversation anyway."

"Do it! Do it! Do it now! Burn the dogs! Burn 'em alive! KILL THE BASTARDS!" Cackled Ripper.

"Kill them all," was David's order.

Falling through the atmosphere of the planet…I began to let the bombs drop.

SKORRE

We flew high above, faster than sound, dropping a barrage of nuclear ordinance…taking them totally off guard.

"We're under attack! Andalites! Fuck! They're using nuclear weapons! All over the damn…" Static replaced the frantic screams of the ground contoller.

Suddenly, it was as if time itself was breaking apart…screams of those dying below us filled me! I couldn't take it…

"It's too much!" Sara cried…she felt it too!

Britz was standing in the corner…looking determined and ready.

"Keep them dropping! Get me a line of communication to the Barad-Dur!" David commanded.

LaRouche, still opening the bay doors, opened up the channels.

A Hork-Bajir filled the monitor.

"Who contacts the citadel of the Emperor? Speak, you miserable persons!"

"I am David James Taggart, Antimorph Commander. I desire to speak to the Emperor."

"The Emperor would not speak with you, you vile Okken!"

"Tell him we are attacking Taxxis. I'm sure he will find it interesting."

The Yeerks hadn't heard of our attack on the planet yet! The Hork-Bajir was full of alarm…but rushing to bring his Emperor to the screen.

Another bomb…another colossal mushroom-shaped cloud below us…Bug Fighters were almost certainly being dispatched…we still had a quarter of our supply left. 

"I am Sauron 001, Emperor," Said the Hork-Bajir cyborg that filled the screen. The parts of him that were still organic were badly burned…yet still familiar to my eye.

"I am now destroying your former capital world, Emperor," Said David smugly, " What say you to that?"

"I would say that it was written long before human or Yeerk walked on soil. I have long known of this petty campaign, prophesized millennia upon millennia ago. Your diminuative assault will not weaken the true throne of the Empire. I was prepared for it."

What was he talking about? David was taken back by it, obviously, struggling for a counterattack.

"What? How could you have known?"

Sauron laughed, " Don't dare tell me you know not what you are, for you act just as you should. One does not rise this far in life without some help from the Demon realms."

"Keep dropping!" David turned to me, and spoke back to Sauron, "What the Hell do Demons have to do with anything?" 

"You BEAST! You are accomplishing your destined mission as we speak, yet you are ignorant of it! 'The Beast shall rise and reality shall Bleed!' You Drac-spawn! The Dark Lord is now laughing on his throne, and the Shrikes are to be loosed on mortals once again, and still, you know nothing!"

"Fuck you! I contacted you to make a deal! Leave Earth and we stop this shit! Give us our parents and we leave you alone for good!"

"I have no intention of that."

David looked grim, "Then I'll see you in Hell."

"I don't doubt it for a moment."

The video went blank.

The sound of the last bomb whistling to the devastated soil below us, and the devastating explosion, stuck in my mind. 

Taxxis was in ruins. 

That's when he pounced. 

DAVID

Britz was on me in a flash, his wristblade tearing a gash into my chest. 

"Shit!" 

"Traitor!" Spat Aleks, silent until now, even through the excitement, " Kill him!"

A spot on Britz's cheek was glowing molton red.

FLASH

Puck took a lick on Britz's cheek…

"Fudge packer…"

FLASH

Aleks jumped on Britz, throwing him back onto the wall.

"LaRouche! Get us the FUCK UP out of here!" I ordered, " The Yeerks will be right on out asses!"

LaRouche obeyed, avoiding any Yeerk ships that were in pursuit.

"Why, Britz? Why'd you do it?" Asked Sara, sympathetically.

"He would kill the innocent to further himself! He is a monster! A Beast!" The Hybrid said, then, in a voice not his own, " One of you shall challenge him. All of you shall die. I am you! I am you, Taggart! I tried and they destroyed me! We always die! Never win! I'm just part it now! Don't fuck up like me! Fuckin' Puck, he's not the ringleader, but he's the chief of your little project! Deceiver! Illusion! Vermin! David Berenson is my name, and I died at the hand of Manimal and Maiar…YOU WILL ALL BLEED!"

Aleks drew his sidearm and shot him dead, three Dracon beams to the body.

With his last breath, Britz gasped, "…All will die…all will be reborn…so far to go…"

We all stood in silence for a moment.

"Get us out of here," I said to LaRouche.

And we were gone.

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER TWELFTH, 2000…

Sauron 001 stood facing Tessk 1420, his newest leading scientist. Once a pupil of Sirex 4891, Tessk was now following most of his mentors research and projects.

At Saurons side was Eussh 013, and Rico Muerte, his host.

"Can you guarantee that the new sentinels can adequately provide security for the council on Nahara?" Asked Sauron.

"Of course! They combine the best elements of the cyborg and the greatest elements of these…demons, as you call them. The three will be more than necessary," answered Tessk, quite sure of himself.

Three bodies lay on the table, several months of decomposition already at work, but to some degree, the flesh had been preserved.

"We knew there would still be a use for these three when they were found. They served us well in life, even better will they serve in death," Eussh said speaking for both him and Rico.

"I never forget my boys. I always took care of 'em," Rico said of his own will.

"Yes. Perhaps even Stantford will be dulled at their sight. His old comrades…" mused the Emperor.

Tessk looked jubilant.

"I present to you, Slip, Coil, and Roach…the first demon/human hyrbrid…the Demonoids!"

Slip opened his eyes.

ALEKS

I crouched in the darkness, not content with how things were going…

"Got to get away…but they won't understand…they won't understand, they won't understand…"

Sanders walked behind me, "Of course they wont understand, dude. I'm beyond their understanding. Their just mortals! Sugar and Spice and everything…useless unless you're baking. I'm more than that. More than flesh…more than blood…"

Sanders changed form, as he often did, into Rachel's body.

"You know, I don't think their a word in this language just KILLER enough for me. Oh, my name will be on everyones lips…assuming that their lips haven't been torn off. But not quite yet. That's alright though…"

Rachel became Sauron 001, the cyborg, Yeerk Emperor. 

"I can be patient. Everything is well within perameters. He's exactly where I want him to be…and so are you, Aleks. Yes, your right where you belong."

Sauron bent down to me, and became my old boss, Rico Muerte.

"What? You think that as long as you got your soul, everything will be all peachy keen? A soul is more slippery than a greased-up weasel, man, why do you think I sold mine? Well, you probably think that you can be your own man, and I respect that…but you never will…"

Rico became Slip, and Slip patted me on the back like an old friend.

"You'll always be one of us…always in the night with us, playing all the evil games we played. You always liked them, didn't you, bro? Always liked 'em, right from the beginning. And that's where we're going…"

Slip stood up, and became Puck, that disturbing creature we had 'seen' before…

"Right back to the beginning…at the BANG! Not the word…but the true…beginning," He paused, and walked around the room, like a conquering hero, " The next few months will be quite a ride, and I think we're all going to learn something about ourselves in the process."

He looked down on me.

"You'll learn that you're a pathetic shmuck…if it hasn't sunk in already. Look at you…actually trying to do what you think is right. Just like the Beast. You still haven't learned. It's not about right…and it's not about wrong…"

Puck turned a final time…into something so horrible…to terrible…it went beyond my imagination and burned my soul. A great Darkness. Evil incarnate…The Dark Lord…

"It's about POWER."


	29. Episode Five: Power Of Evil Part One: A ...

Episode Five: Power of Evil

Part One: A Prophecy Unfolding

The Shrike stood in the realm of Tartarus.

Long had it suffered being trapped in the mortal realm, on the planet of Earth. For fifteen centuries it had spent trapped in bitter exile. Fifteen centuries, trapped in a fortress that contained both the servent of the Machine, and the knowledge it possessed. 

Quinz had sent them. Or Pan. Or Maerlyn. Or Loki. Or Damien. Or Puck. Or whatever else the half-Drac had taken to calling itself. For the Shrike had been sent on a wild errand, to recover the Stone of its masters power. Both of it's masters, in truth. 

The Shrike had cut its way through time and space, around a million worlds and a million offshoots of those worlds. For but a moment in its mind it peered into the Walled Realm, the dominion of the traitor, Crayak. A realm cut off from Demon and Maiar alike, though not even the power of the Lord of Treason itself could keep Puck from his meddling. A Beast was there, as in every other realm. More universes than even the Highest Demon could count. More dimensions than there were Dracs to fight them. 

Ah, the Beast…Pucks greatest innovation, mistake, and idiocy, in one form. 

When It was brought into existence from the womb of a mortal woman and the seed of a traitorous half-demon, It had assailed the very place whence the Shrike was headed…Gharanz-Tyre, Dracish for Tower of…well, 'Tyr' could be translated as either Pain or Doom…either way, the name struck fear into the hearts of all who heard it.

The Beast was split…one to each world, to return the Lost Fire, the Stone of Oblivion, of Ragnarok, to the Black Hand. 

~He has but one Black Hand…but it is enough to wield it.~  The Shrike thought to itself. 

By Mortal, Maiar and Drac, This particular Shrike was known as Tyrak, the Lord of Doom. Once a mortal, of a long-dead race known as the Chairitiscus, It had been ensnared by the siren-song of the Machine. And it had sought it out, and, using it's wicked knowledge of sorcery, gone through with a thousand others, of different kin, to become the mockery of life and purity that they were now.

Still…one Beast left, two if the traitor was counted.

~It is beyond us now.~

The Shrike stood before Gharanz-Tyre, after fifteen hundred years, awed at the sight of the Fortress of Evil.

Tower upon tower, battlement upon battlement, unmeasurably high, a great slab of jagged and demonic adamant, stained black with it's demonic energies, so tall it defied the Maiar, and the Power beyond them. No Maiar had ever breached it. Within were Hordes upon Hordes of Dracs, and other Demon soldiers of the Dark Lord. 

It had earned its name. 

The Shrike heard Its masters calling, and entered the gate of the Tower, Dracs and Demons fearfully cowering before It.

The darkness of It's form repelled the light of the fires. Tyraks shape of a formless, featurless and black humanoid with flaming red eyes and an icey touch drawing awed hushes from all forms of the Bloodspawn. 

"Tyraks returned! News of the Stone, no doubt he has brought! Puck will be made a fool yet!" Were the words of Duriel, a great High Demon, the Prince of Deception, as he walked to the Shrike.

~The Masters. I have news.~

The voice of the Shrike was icey, and chilling even to Duriel, the source of some of the greatest pains and miseries of mortals. 

Duriel took a form pleasing to the eye, a tall, dark, handsome human man. That shell hid one of the most evil of the High Demons. 

"Erm…yes…come with me, You've been expected."

The two Demons began to walk. All forms of evil were gathered in the great halls of Gharanz-Tyre, Drac, Shifty, Vampire, Orc and Troll, Sorcerors and other horrors too Vile to bring name to. Things nightmares were made of. Things that if their truest forms were seen, a mortal would be made both blind and insane.

"Out Legions are prepared! We need only the Stone now, to bring the war to the White Gates of Paradise, as we did in the War of the Stone so many eons ago! 'Ere day, more and more mortals choose Dracdom over the false promises of the Maiar. What Ovilkhan attempted three millennia ago, on but one planet, we shall complete on all Reality! Where were you for so long, old comrade? Imprisoned at the hand of the Maiar?"

The Shrike stopped in Its tracks.

~Speak that name not, Seductor. And long have we known war not to be your preference. For you enjoy to watch them destroy themselves, rather then slavery in our Empire or death to our fires. A coward. A cat. The Hour of Doom is at hand, and see that your insolence in uttering the name of the Enemy is not known to the Fallen One Of Their Creed. ~

Duriel no longer spoke, but obediently led Tyrak to the chamber of his master.

The chamber was alone and empty, gigantic. An army could have fit within it. In the very center, sat the Dark Throne, hundreds of feel high. Beside it was Puck.

Upon it was It's master…who would not allow His name to be spelt or spoken, who felt only hate and preached only lies. One hand chopped by the Lord of Treason in the War of the Shrikes, long ago, and the gash upon His chest from the Azure Blade of Gray'Ang the Maiar. The missing hand replaced by a skeletal claw of fire. A flaming, vile demon with massive, curved horns upon its brow, eyes blazing wrath and fire, and other features no being, Good or Evil, should be rightfully subjected to. 

He was the Dark Lord. The Lord of the Shrikes, The Black Hand. The Fallen One. The Blood Bringer. Satan. His very name meant 'Great Hate'.

Mephisto.

"SO! In the very hour of Doom, Tyrak the Shrike comes to Gharanz-Tyre for council! Be it of the Stone, Doombringer?"

The Dark Lords voice boomed, only in two tongues did He speak. One, icey, eerily calm and seductive. Another, of malice and wrath. He had now chosen the latter.

~Long was I held in the designs, the fortress of Their Prophet. The Stone…It has been found.~

"Indeed! And by Quinz's Beast, nonetheless?"

Puck stepped in, ready to defend himself, " This is indeed the one prophecised my Lord, to return your power! All that it needed is One Destruction, of an entire universe, to set the events in motion to return it, so that you could see where it was, to cause it to jump from world to world until it was within your hand…and this Beast will destroy it! He will deliver it right to you!"

Mephisto was not impressed. "Such sooths were spoken by you of your Beast, David Berenson, and now look where he is! Within that shield of Ovilkhan! You touted him as the greatest of them all, and he STILL failed when you put him into the body of that mortal-clone, among the Beasts bretheren."

"But it WILL work, my Lord! Have faith! Soon you will stab the Elders to death with your blade! This is the Beast who will succeed!"

"There is still Hunting."

Silence gripped Puck.

"He failed you. Denied prophecy. Fights now as an agent for the POWER! The greatest turncoat in all of history, all at the hand of a mortal girl, none the less! I almost destroyed you for that, QUINZ! Remember how you quivered before me and promised a victory in Berenson? Remember how he was destroyed at the hand of two Maiar? WEAK, CHILDREN? And MORTALS…insolent MORTALS! Your 'Beast' is naught but a harmless, toothless old wolf that was doomed to fail from the beginning. I am done with it."

Puck spoke up, "No, you cant possibly…"

Mephistos voice was at once low, and cold, "Do not presume to tell me such things…Quinz."

He continued, "Tyrak, go to Taggarts universe. Recover the Stone. Kill the Beast and it's bretheren. Spare not one."

~As you wish, my Master.~

With that, The Shrike rose its arm, turning it into a blade that cut through time and space, propelling it to the universe of David Taggart and his Antimorphs.

And the Stone…

Authors note: If anyone found that terribly confusing, don't worry. This is what I've been building to for a DAMN LONG TIME! It's just starting to get really good, so stick with me! Everything will be explained in full.

I'm taking a census. To everyone who reads this, please review this time. I just want to know how many people read this fic.

Also, in case you haven't figured it out yet, Antimorphs has ties with One Least Likely by Augestine Quill. I STRONGLY suggest you read it. He mentions my stuff, and soon…Worlds Will Collide.

Also, Keep an eye out for "Manimals" by Ryan Griffin. I helped him develop the story, and I'm in a sense producing it. It has huge ties with Antimorphs. Including, Puck and Mephisto!

Thanks,

Elcolo9


	30. Part Two: Into The Storm

Episode Five: Power of Evil

Part Two: Into the Storm

September 29th, 2000, Eleventh Moon of Yeerk Occupied Mining Planet, Clemiac…

DAVID

"Fuck you."

"Shove it, Ripper. Just do it, for the Christs sake," Aleks muttered.

"No. No bloody way. I do everything on this damn ship. Make the dog-bitch do it. She does nothin'!"

"'Cept listen to you cry every freaking night!" Countered Aleks.

"Shit, Ripper, just DO IT ALREADY! That's an order," I sighed, exasperated.

Ripper looked at me begrudgingly, and reluctantly nodded. He would do it.

"Right hand, green," Read Skorre.

Ripper bent backwards over LaRouche and Sara, making an awkward shape with his body.

I hate Twister.

"This is gay," announced Aleks, "We can either watch a sandwich of Ripper, LaRouche and Sara, watch 'The Shawshank Redemption' for the millionth time, or eat excess amounts of ground beef. This sucks balls."

Ripper collapsed onto the others. The game was over.

"Game sucked anyways," Said LaRouche, standing up, "I'm going to check out more of the Disc's code, see if I can crack it."

"Jesus, man, you've been working on that for months! Still haven't gotten into it?" I asked.

"Nope. See, when Ripper and Sara downloaded it off of the Yeerk computer, they could have easily bypassed all the vigourous security. But, for some reason, it passed their minds."

"I told you once, I told you a thousand times: We had Bugs chasing us! Fucking Hell, LaRouche!" Ripper growled lowly.

LaRouche went off to look at his Disc. One of these days he would crack it, and on that day, I'd buy him a Keskit-Steak.

We had been laying low after we left the Noldor system. We took everything we wanted from the Sehkmet and dumped it in an asteroid belt near Taloraan. 

The Empire was in total chaos. Taxxis was almost a total wasteland, 70% uninhabitable, with 59% casualties from our attack. Roughly ninety million Yeerks. Relief in the form of Kandronas, hosts and food was coming everyday to Taxxis, whatever wasn't needed for the war, which had turned against the Yeerks badly. 

They were stuck on Mirichir, the seventh planet of the Andalite system. The Andalites had recalled nearly all their fleets to be a defence. 

And speaking of the Andalites, we had received some very interesting messages addressed to us lately:

"You are war criminals guilty of violent and genocidal atrocities. Surrender to the Andalite Federation and you will be given a fair military trial."

Just who did they think they were? Fucking Nuremburg? 

So anyways, we were laying low on the outer-Empire planet of Clemiac's eleventh moon. Pretty out of the ways, really. Roughly seven hundred Yeerks on the planet, four hundred more around it or on its inner moons. Nothing to worry about, plus, who would dream of finding the Anubis, nicely cloaked near the Empire Tiberium mines?

No one.

"Cracked it."

"What?"

"I cracked the code. I was almost done the last time, but you made me re-organize the armoury."

"Shredders needed cleaning," Piped in Skorre.

"Whatever, dude…" LaRouche trailed off, looking into his computer terminal.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Our next big case, if I wager correctly."

NAHARA…The Naharan Homeworld

Efflit 1318, the newly appointed Visser Eleven, stood by the principal docking platform on the dusty, canyon littered Naharan planet.

Long ago the Naharans had crawled like spiders up and down the perilous canyons (that had, in turn, been great rivers and lakes) breaking the rocks that they used to regenerate their body fiber. 

Then, with their new Hork-Bajir hosts, the Yeerks had come. Within eighteen months, the planet was overrun. 

It was close to Bajir, close enough to be well defended by the Andalites, and close enough to re-enforcements to prevent those damned Antimorphs from making yet another appearance.

Taxxis had been a major catastrophe, one never such seen in the entire history of the civilized galaxy. Never had such a terrible and demonic fire been brought down onto an unsuspecting planet.

"Not yet, anyway…" Efflit muttered.

Indeed, high above the planet, the Emperors long awaited project, known only in code as "The Eye", was under construction in the Erialis shipyards,  but, if the information provided to him was correct, it would be a weapon of terrible power.

Apparently, the Emperor had stolen the blueprints for the weapon from an ancient, Galaxy wide Empire whose furthest border was billions of miles from the depths of the furthest Yeerk or Andalite probing. According to the word of Sauron 001, it had been desposed by a petty rebellion after building two of the weapons, long ago. 

Efflit 1318 was, indeed, in charge of constuction, but the content of what he was building was known to only a few in the highest circles.

Efflit frowned. If this ancient Empire had two of these "Eyes", then how could a rag tag rebellion overcome it?

"Such tales are commonly spun out of control," Efflit mused.

Efflit looked to the sky.

The Bug Fighter was falling, descending onto the landing platform.

Efflit turned warily to one of his Hork-Bajir bodyguards, "Inform the…security detail…that Lord Eussh's shuttle has arrived."

The Bug Fighter touched down, and, after the lowering of the gang plank, two especially burly Hork-Bajir stepped out. 

Then a third.

Then, a tall, handsome and sharp looking Hispanic human, Eussh 013, human name Rico Muerte, came stepping onto the ground.

"Lord Eussh, this is an unexpected pleasure, we are honoured at your presence…"

"Dispence with the pleasantries, Visser. I am here to put you back on schedual."

Efflits hear sank, "The Emperor asks the impossible! We need more men, rations are too low, security…almost too tight, and I have no idea what it is that I'm constructing!"

Eussh walked on, uncaring. "Perhaps you can ask them when they arrive."

"The Emperor?"

"No, but a High Council of the twenty highest ranking Vissers of the Empire, to discuss the invasion of the Andalite System, and possible future aggression against the Kelbrid. You have three weeks, Visser. Do not disappoint us."

Eussh walked off the landing platform flanked by his three bodyguards, leaving Efflit alone with his entourage.

"I'm getting too old for this shit," he muttered.

Unknown to Efflit or any other commanding Yeerk, on the other side of the planet a hole in time and space brought the Lord of Doom to the Yeerk Empire.

A patrol of ten Hork-Bajir warriors was called in to investigate a massive energy flux around the area of the Shrikes arrival.

"Hey, you! Identify yourself!" 

The Shrike stood silent on the dusty plane of Nahara.

The Hork-Bajir captain walked dead up to it, his nine troopers keeping their Dracon rifles trained eagerly on this new entity.

"I am Under Visser 9182, Asal 1299 of the Cren-Jirla pool on Pentasera. I order you to identify yourself, immediately, and without question!"

The shrike, devoid of anything a mortal would call a mouth, spoke in an icy hush.

~Are you a God?~

"Uh…no," The Hork-Bajir stammered, confused.

~Then…DIE!~

The Shrike raised its arm, becoming a glimmering dark spike, that it jabbed into the Hork-Bajirs chest, impaling its heart.

Green blood flowed.

The remaining controllers fired their weapons, crimson Dracon beams flying toward it.

With a thought, the Shrike stopped time for all but itself, and, with super mortal speed, eliminated the Yeerk squad.

~I have killed ten of their warriors. It is too easy killing these 'Yeerks' as they know themselves. I long for a good Archron to duel, once more!~ It thought.

At least those Nazi's, 50 years past, had had the sense to run away.

The Beast would come to this world soon.

Very soon.

All the Shrike had to do was wait. And It would.


	31. Part Three: Assembly Of Tyranny

Episode Five: Power Of Evil 

Part Three: Assembly of Tryanny

October 6th, 2000, City of Lud, Nahara…

Visser six arrived at one in the morning the night before, followed shortly by Visser's two and ten, the former being Efflit 1318's old nemesis, Nodnarb 395. 

"So, Nodnarb, again you advance beyond me, if only by one rank."

Yes, but one rank is all that is needed. My council with the Gervasid chieftains went very well. So well in fact that they will pay us double their current tribute.

"What good is tribute in Sala and Vran skins? Or Chelswatta fruits?" Sneered Efflit.

Watch who your talking to. I may be the one who pisses you off, but I still outrank your aristocratic ass.

The Vissers were arriving two or three a day now, until all but Visser three and Visser eighteen were absent.

With the exception of Efflit, Visser sixteen (A Taxxon) and Visser four (A human), all held newly aquired Andalite hosts.

Visser one, holding the host of the former Andalite Electorate, Leeram, was held in high esteem by the rest of her colleagues. 

But none were aware of the Shrike lurking in the Naharan wilderness, waiting silently, with an otherworldly calm to its prey.

~The time is at hand. If the prophets were correct, six shall fight, and three shall die.~

The Shrike, Tyrak, hid in the wastelands near the City of Lud, an ancient Naharan word for 'Stone'. 

~Soon.~

Then, from out of time, came Puck.

"How's it goin', buddy-boy?"

~It never ceases to amaze me, Quinz, how you talk so eloquently around our master, but so…common, around others.~

"You should see me when I'm drunk."

The two beings stood in silence for a moment, until Puck began to talk again.

"So, I just got back from watching Hunting for a bit."

~And?~

"Well, you know how I can't do much outside of dreams in that dimension, none of us can. And that little putz, Drode, has been hard at work manipulating time and space so that Hunting will never get anywhere, but I just watched him give a nice, long rant about ol' Hunting. Very entertaining. Crayak's worried."

~Who wouldn't be? If that dimension is destroyed, he gets kicked right back to the Machine. And you know what IT would do to him.~

"Yeah, I know, I know."

~How would you know? You've never even been in it's presence. I had to go INTO it.~

"Whatever."

Puck drew a deep breath, "Look, I want to know what happened to you, I sent you off fifteen centuries ago to look for the Stone and you never come back. What gives?"

~On the planet known as Earth, the Stone fell. It fell to the eastern forested land of the continent known as Europe. There, their prophet waited for me.~

"A prophet?"

~Yes. But not a human. A Maiar.~

Puck looked nervous, "Maiar? Shit, on Earth? Actually doing something? Was it Gri'yang and Fred? They made a mess out of Berensons dimension, you know."

~No. More powerful. Lathos.~

Puck was very nervous at this, "Lathos? One of the first! Fuck, he was supposed to be DEAD!"

~I know. I watched as he was slain by Naysrak, Lord of Terror, in he dimension of Telamon. He was indeed dead to our eyes.~

"I mean, Chira's still alive, we know that…Gray'ang…we got him, too…Darius…we all know what happened to HIM, for the fire of Hell. And Mar…Mar…Ma…"Puck stuttered, trying to speak the name, "Well, we know. Lathos was killed!"

~When a Maiar is slain, they become one with the Power. It is obvious he was resurrected. Incarnate in a mortal form.~

"What else?"

~Lathos had a following. They made many prophecies about your Beast, even though it had yet to manifest in that dimension. They built a fortress in the lands known as Romania, where they held the Stone away from things like us. I found it there, and they trapped me. Then, fifteen hundred years later, I was found by humans that called themselves Nazi's. They freed me, but the Stone was gone. Lathos must have sent it elsewhere. He had put a curse on my prison, whoever freed me would die within two weeks. As I cut my way back to Hell, I saw that the Nazi in command, Heinrich, was killed eleven days later in Slavic lands, at the hands of a rebel group. That is all I know.~

"FUCK!" 

~I Know.~

"Very bad…very bad…another Maiar out there, who knows all about our plans? Fuck!"

~Indeed, though they already knew. The Power knows everything, and that meddler, Whistler, would have told them, without a doubt.~

"We need Taggart…he cant die…don't kill him. Kill the rest. Get the Stone. Taggart is needed."

Puck looked at Tyrak cockeyed, "Wait…you know even more, don't you? You know how its going to End!"

~I know how that battle will begin, who shall slay whom, but I know not what waits at the end of that conflict.~

"What about it?"

~The Beast will play the biggest part in the end of all things. Our master knows this, as well. Even if I kill Taggart, the Beast shall reassemble in Tartarus. It is foretold.~

"Jesus…I'm getting too old for this shit?"

Puck said 'fuck' once more, and was gone.

The Shrike sighed. The orders of the Dark Lord outweighed those of the Jester of Hell. It would find the Stone…and kill whoever carried it.

ABOVE THE PLANET, October 8th, 2000…

DAVID

"We're going in."

"That's suicide!" Said LaRouche.

"Madness!" Blurted Skorre.

"I guess you don't like living, eh, David?" Muttered Aleks.

"Dog-Shit! Insane!"

Only Sara remained silent after hearing of my plan to raid the Vissers summit. 

"Well, their all there, this is our best fuckin' chance of assassinating the top warlords in the high command! We cant pass it up!" I said.

" Why am I surprised? You drag us out here right after LaRouche tells you exactly what you want to hear: That Efflit, and your parents, are going to be wide open and ready to be hit. You didn't even TELL us what you were planning until just now," said Aleks, "Fuck, I mean, its not supposed to BE this way!"

"And how is it supposed to be, Aleks?" Asked LaRouche.

"There's a plan, bigger than ours. Like a Machine, you know? That runs everything."

Sara spoke up, "Uh oh, he's rambling again," She said, looking to LaRouche.

"You don't say."

"Look, this is not a democracy. This is a dictatorship. And in MY dictatorship, my command is what we DO. None of you can protest that. We have a job to waste all these slugs and take down their bloody Empire, and if we have to…"

Skorre, normally 100% loyal to me, said " Get your parents? Is that what you want, David? Will you risk our lives for your personal gain, or vengeance?"

"Damn right I will. We attack them tomorrow morning when their in full swing. Morph Hork-Bajir to get in and then pick them off in quiet."

"Anything else?" Asked Ripper, seeming somewhat worried.

"Yeah. When we find Visser 11, we take him alive."


	32. Part Four: Old Friends And New Allies

Episode Five: Power Of Evil 

Part Four: Old Friends And New Allies

ALEKS

We landed easily, and, in Hork-Bajir morph, left the Anubis in a gorge on a distant part of the planet and flew one of the Bug Fighters to the City of Lud, the location of the summit.

"Unidentified Bug Fighter! Lud air control requests immediate identification," were the words that barked from the radio as we flew over the low, stone buildings of the ancient Naharan city.

Signs of the Yeerk occupation were evident: a massive Yeerk Pool slammed right into the center of the city came to mind, as well as Surface to air missile sites, Dracon turrets, landing platforms, as well as factories, grinding out Yeerk tanks (the primary industry on this planet) and the Hork-Bajir shock troopers of the Empire, marching in unison about the city, populated mostly with Naharans and Taxxons. 

"Additional bodyguards for Belran 209, Visser fifteen. Under Visser nine hundred two in command. Clearance being transmitted now." LaRouche spoke in Galard, and transmitted a series of beeps and squeals in some cursed computer language.

"Clearance accepted. Proceed to docking bay seven six seven."

We landed, with a good hour and forty minutes left before the two hour time limit.

Our landing platform was near a metallic bunker, guarded by an Andalite controller. 

Two things stood out about this Andalite: It had no tail, and a massive scar covered the right side of its face.

You must be Visser 15's additional security team. Good to have you here. I'm Rygrif 660, Valan Sisk pool, Lummod IV. I'm the Visser's clerk.

"What is your rank?" Asked David, in Galard.

Uh…no rank, Sir. I'm enlisted.

We all forced a Hork-Bajir laugh, a big chortle straight from the gut. 

"An enlisted Yeerk with a new Andalite host?" I asked.

This Yeerk seemed good-natured for one of its kind. It smiled.

This host and I have a history. It murdered over three hundred of my pool brothers on the second moon of Kiltri. Visser 15 felt that I deserved to subjugate this host.

Rygrif took us into the corridor, flanked by an additional two Hork-Bajir.

This host's true name is Spikarezellius-Quillica-Istopholes. It knows itself as 'Spike.'

"Hardly fitting, as it lacks a tail," David replied.

Oh, he had a tail. And it was how he used it that got him his nickname. He was almost a Prince, but his recklessness and bloodshed were known throughout the Galaxy. He murdered hostages, fired on civilians, even executed many of his subordinates. He tortured any prisoner with his tail, so we called him "Spike the Bloody."

"What happened?" Asked Sara, in broken Galard.

Rygrif didn't seem to notice, too involved in both getting us to our destination and telling his story to give a damn.

He lead a raid on an outpost and murdered everything alive, even the empty hosts. When he returned home, he was put on trial for War Crimes, got his tail cut off, and was banished. That was about…eight years ago. We caught him a few weeks ago associating with known rebels and terrorists, trying to implant some kind of bio-metallic implant. Visser 15 gave him to me.

"Impressive," complemented David.

"Most impressive," added Skorre. Even he was in morph, to avoid detection.

Thank you, Under Visser. We are approaching the meeting hall now. Visser 15 is stationed on the far right hand side of the room.

We walked out and towards the meeting hall, taking our places in various parts of the room.

With an hour and ten minutes left, the meeting began to come under way.

But it was who BEGAN the meeting that really got my attention.

LaROUCHE

Rico Muerte! Aleks shouted, silently in thought speech to us.

Who? Sara asked, suddenly alarmed.

My…my old gang leader. Muerte…he was like my fuckin' father! He practically raised me and the others…

Others? asked Ripper.

Slip, Coil, Roach, and Hounder and Blick 'till the Crips wasted 'em… I haven't seen Rico in months!

Well, he's a Controller, now, deduced David. 

"My name is Eusshe 013, Aid to the Emperor and Lord of the Bajir system. My host, Rico Muerte is a voluntary controller who shares my position with me by Imperial decree."

Some mutters went through the crowd of Vissers and their bodyguards.

"My host will now take over."

Eusshe gave a visible shudder, shook his head, and took on a different, more personable personality.

"Well, well, well…look what we've got here. We've got Andalites…if you can believe it, sitting right next to Gedd Controllers. We've got Taxxons, sitting right next to Hork-Bajir. Nobody, is wasting nobody."

The room erupted into cheers.

Then, Eusshe seemingly took back over.

"In the past, our soldiers swore fealty only to their Visser, who swore alliegience to their Council Member. The Council is no more! All destroyed by Andalite treachery. Ever since that dread day, however, we have been more prosperous and victorious than ever before!"

Another shudder…Muerte took over again.

"But! We don't have TOTAL control and power just yet. We've got one problem: The Antimorphs. Human renegades, lead by some TEENAGE CLONE named David Taggart. They are SINGLE HANDEDLY waging a more successful war then even the Andalites have. They proved this with their raid on Taxxis just weeks ago, killing BILLIONS of civilians and causing irreparable damage. The planet may have to be abandoned."

Hey, finally we get some sodding credit, I muttered.

They seem to have looked me over, Skorre remarked, sounding disappointed.

No sweat, big guy, someday everyone will know your name, Sara said encouragingly.

As the room applauded again, and the Yeerk assumed control of Rico Muerte once more.

"We are still making progress, however. Even as we speak, miles above us, a new weapon of terrible destructive power is being built. A weapon that, used in unheard of, wild space, by an ancient Empire, destroyed TWO entire worlds!"

The room went into a silent awe.

"This new battleship shall grant us swift victory and terrible vengeance against the Andalite Federation, and later, conquest of the Kelbrid Confederacy!"

More cheers.

"We now possess the power to turn an entire world to a slab of liquid magma, igniting the atmosphere and making it uninhabitable. I'm sure you're all aware of the rebellion on the Garatron homeworld of Gara III. That world, and its meagre population are now worthless to us. It shall be the first to go."

A hushed silence.

"Then, Andale! Today, this galaxy, tomorrow, the Universe!"

The crowd of controllers and soldiers erupted into total applause for Eusshe/Rico. 

Off to the side I saw Visser 11, Efflit 1318, in the body of Rachel Berenson, and Visser 10, masquerading as Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill.

Even while applauding, they stabbed daggers at each other with their eyes. 

Just then, a Taxxon came struggling through the room, sheiking its high-pitched snake-speak.

"Sreeeaaaassss sssslliiaaasssss ssssnaaaaaasssssaaaasss!!!!"

A Sstram controller spoke up, translating it.

"Sir! This Taxxon brings a message from the security team! They've detected intruders!"

"How many!" Eusshe snapped.

"Six in this room, in morph, another coming very close! It's something we've never seen before!"

"Ready all soldiers, block every exit, surround the complex, ready all defences!"

"Sir," a Hork-Bajir on the far side of the room interrupted, "It's already inside."

With that, a black, amourphous, evil shape cut through the wall. 

"You…" Eusshe, (or was it Rico?) started.

~I come for the morphers. And I come for you!~ It pointed a long 'finger', straight at David.

"Not if WE have anything to say about it, Shrike!"

Aleks knew that voice, showing it in the jerk of his body.

Three "things", half human, but with demonic parts surgically grafted onto them, like some vile looking Frankenstein Monsters…

"Slip! Coil! Roach!" 

"Hey hey, Blades! Long time, no see!" Said the shortest one.

"Your dead! I killed you myself!" Aleks said, his voice, for the first time I've ever heard it, full of FEAR.

"Can't keep a good soldier down, not these days." Said the black one.

"This is going to be quite a fight," Said the lead one, " The Demonoids, the Antimorphs, a bunch of Yeerks, and a demon-lord. Let's get this party started, shall we?"

Enough of this bullshit! Ripper roared, demorphing, "WE'RE TAKING OVER!"


	33. Part Five:Battle Royale

Episode Five: Power Of Evil 

Part Five: Battle Royale

DAVID

Six of us, one weird monster thing, three mix-and-match monstrosities, and a horde of Hork-Bajir, all with Ripper morphing to his Bug morph as fast as he could.

"WASTE 'EM!" I ordered, "GET TO YOUR MORPHS!"

The battle was on.

Dashing around the room as I morped from Hork-Bajir back to human, then to Gervasid, I saw the rest of my crew morphing to Aorkians.

I knew who…or what those Frankenstein things used to be… Slip, Coil and Roach, Alek's old partners in crime. Almost at ruthless and terrible as he was, all amoral murders and warriors, gangsters and thugs. 

Now, in spite of it all, they were alive. I had watched as Coil and Roach had fallen to a policeman's bullet months ago, as Slip had died at Aleks's own hand as he tried to run.

But the things that made up their bodies were undoubtably them.

How?! Aleks cried, unsure where it was an exclamation or a question.

"Well, I for one, was never dead," Slip exclaimed, extending his right arm, replaced with a long brown spike that extended out to the black creature, almost spearing it, "But the others were," he finished, his mouth filled with fangs and the horns on his head pointing towards his opponent.

Coil took over, his African body with little patches of sickening green scales and porcupine spikes covering massive muscles, and one red eye in his left socket "Rico didn't let us stay dead. He took us back, made the Yeerks bring us back. You should'a seen Death, Blades! It was fuckin' awesome! Everyday, we got to play that gunfight out, where Hounder got wasted by the Crips! 'Nothin but fightin and shit and shootin' horse and speed…" He said, taking a swing at LaRouche, who jumped over him.

"They brought us back, made us into these supersoldiers, it's the life, it is!" Roach cackled, both of his arms replaced with scorpion claws and a fireball coming out of his stubby tail, burning Skorre, who pounced on another Hork-Bajir from behind, "They took the weakness right out of us! Gave us demon parts, demons powers, demon LIFE! I mean, me and Coil came back with a bit of Drac in us, but Slip was a fuckin' Shrike!"

At this, the black creature that Slip was fighting spoke, ~Of course! I see you now, Fesrak, once the Lord of Anger you were, now a mortal!~

Slip drew his telescopic-spire-spike-arm-thing back in, and the creature killed a dozen Hork-Bajir with it's bear hands.

What the HELL are you?! Screamed Sara.

~Hell? Not far off, mortal!~

By now, the Vissers had all abandoned the chaos raging in the room. 

I looked around. Efflit 1318 was nowhere to be seen, though Rico/Eusshe was cowering in the corner.

Only two or three Hork-Bajir were still standing. Ripper took his claws and jumped onto one, decapitating it.

Suddenly, all time slowed down. Everything stopped. Except for the creature, and its words, in an icey and evil tone. 

~I am Tyrak. A Shrike.~

With that, the Shrike took its darkness and stabbed Ripper, impaling him on an evil spike.

NOOOOO!!!!! Sara cried.

Ripper was dead.

Time kept going, and I jumped onto Roach, tearing his tail off.

"FUCK YOU!" He cried, snapping his pinchers at me.

Aleks's jaws found his head, twisting it off.

I should have done that a long time ago, he muttered.

Roach's mangled form fell limp to the ground. As Aleks spat the head away, a dark crimson glow seemed to wisp away from the neck and be gone to the wind.

"ROACH!" Coil cried, lunging for the thing nearest to him.

LaRouche.

Coil picked up the Aorkian form of Marc LaRouche in his muscular hands, and snapped his neck.

NO! I yelled.

Die, you Hesenka! Skorre yelled, lunging towards the Shrike, cursing in Hork-Bajir.

The Shrike flung him away, like a child who was throwing a toy.

Skorre slumped up against the wall of the room, seemingly unconscious.

Coil and Slip lept for the Shrike simultaneously, and again time stopped. The Shrike moved with impossible speed as the two gangsters sat helpless in the air.

The Shrike moved its arms into the dark spikes, evil knives, and cut off Slip's human arm. It skewered Coil, hoisting him up and throwing the poor son of a bitch down on the ground, still alive, yet rolling in his own blood.

It's too strong…we can't beat it… Said Aleks, at my side, sounding defeated.

We have to! It killed Ripper! It killed LaRouche! Sara pouted, behind me.

Ok, I said privately to my two remaining crew,Charge it.

The Shrike stood on the other side of the room, watching us, but not moving.

Charge it. Throw everything you've got at it.

No offence, Dave, but I don't think we've got a shot, said Aleks.

If we fail, then…Well, see you on the other side.

We charged.

Like bats out of Hell we ran, tooth and nail clanging on the ground, in our last hurrah.

The Shrike raised an arm, stopping time as it had before. 

Aleks and Sara, once beside me, fell behind. I still ran forward, albeit slower.

~Magnificent valour.~ Remarked the Shrike.

All thought left my mind. I pounced.

The Shrike raised its arm and impaled me.

I was still alive, but not for long.

Then, the shadow that surrounded the Shrike thinned, and on its head I saw a single cycloptic eye that burned into my soul. 

~Sleep now, in the fire, Beast. I shall deal with your comrades.~

And I died.

Falling, falling, flying, flying, falling, flying. I couldn't make any sense of it. I knew I was moving, but to where? Where would my final resting place be? 

I didn't care. 

It was then that the movement through time and space stopped. I was at the crossroads.

In a place of pure black, were two roads. One surrounded by fire and ash. There was power there, I knew. I could feel it in my bone. On that road was adventure, chaos and conquest. 

The other road was emitting an otherworldly blue light. Everything about it was…light.

That road could lead to peace. Rest. I would be complete. Whole. 

I began to walk down the road of fire and ash. It would take me where I needed to be. I needed to be in that fire. It would be my home. It had always been my home.

Then, it was as if a giant hand grabbed my arm, yanking me away from my road.

"No!" I cried out, not sure if I could actually speak in this place, "I choose the Machine! I choose the Machine!"

"Yeah, well, I want a toilet seat made out of solid gold, but it's just not in the cards, is it?" Came an unfamiliar voice, tinged with an old-time Brooklyne/Italian accent, like you would hear in a depression era movie."

"Where are you taking me?" I demanded.

"Paradise."

I looked all around. Nothing was touching me. I was just…moving. 

"Jeez, look at me, handling the Beast itself."

"IT?!"

"Look at yourself. You're more of a Beast than your old pal Bin Laden was. Oh, wait a tick, he was a Shrike. My bad."

I looked down. 

My entire body was covered in many carvings, each saying the exact same thing.

666.

Then, the darkness was gone! The emptiness of the crossroads was gone, replaced with a bright, eternal light.

Far away, many miles in the distance, was a clear, crystal wall, stretching from here to eternity. 

"What the fuckin' Hell is that?"

"Kid, you can't talk like that. It's the wall of Paradise.

"Don't you tell me what to do, dude. Who are you?"

"Whistler. Look, don't give me any more trouble, alright? I'm getting' too old for this anyways."

We reached the foot of the wall. Along the bottom of the crystal wall were hundreds of blue, muscular, mouthless things. They had strange tails, tipped with a swirling ball, shining bright as a star. They looked imposing, but their elfin ears subtracted from their intimidation factor.

"Whister! What, in the name of the Power, caused you to bring this BEAST to the Gate of Paradise?" demanded one of the blue-things.

"Let me through, Archron. This goes higher than you."

The thing, I suppose it was called an Archron, thought for a moment, then nodded its head reluctantly.

It let us pass, though I still couldn't see who my companion was.

Once on the other side of the wall, everything became clear. I saw millions of people, of all different races and species. 

And I saw my protégé.

My friend.

My…son.

Lewis Sanders stood right in front of me.


	34. Part Six:The Becoming, Part One

Episode Five: Power Of Evil 

Part Six: Becoming, Part One

DAVID

Not ten feet away stood a dead man.

"What the…? Where am I?" I asked, confused.

"I told you, kid. Paradise," came a voice from behind me.

I turned around, to see a slightly overweight, but friendly man. He was dressed much like his voice gave away: a 1920's street hustler, a hobo, or whatever you want to call it.

"Whistler, I presume?" 

"One and only."

"Um, David, aren't you forgetting someone?" Asked the familiar voice of Sanders.

"Holy shit! Sanders! Your alive! Berenson killed you, but your alive!"

"Not really. I'm dead. So are you. Same with Marc and Ripper."

I wasn't listening. I jumped up and hugged the boy I had treated as a son.

"Wait…why are we in heaven? We did some pretty awful shit. This is heaven, isn't it?"

LaRouche was asking the question. Out of nowhere he and Ripper appeared.

"Yes, Marc. This is heaven. You're here because everything you were taught about heaven and hell is a lie."

I looked around, and saw so many people, all just being happy and stuff. Everyone. I saw people I knew, or thought I did. Lots of white. Here and there were more of those Archron things, and other…beings that I couldn't quite put a finger on. 

"Better explain it a little better, Sanders. Their more confused than I was when I got here," Said Marco McCabe, striding through the crowd towards the little gaggle of Antimorphs and Whistler.

"Hey Marco. Yeah, listen: you get to choose, ok? If you want to go hell and become a Drac, by all means, you are allowed."

"If this is heaven then why don't I remember anything?" Asked Ripper, "Why don't I know who I am?"

"You're the Ripper, same way Marc is the Loyal and David is the Beast. Just as Skorre is the Warrior and Aleks is the Mercenary and Sara is the Innocent. That's all you get to find out until you finish your job on the mortal plane," Sanders explained.

"What job?" LaRouche asked.

"Each of you has a destiny to complete, kiddo, and I gotta tell ya, if it was up to me, Taggart here wouldn't be going back. But the Power works in mysterious ways, I guess."

"Just tell them, dude. I've got lunch with Elfangor and Kurt Cobain in a half hour," whined Marco. I may be dead, but I still found myself with a strong urge to kill him.

"Alright, alright. Give me a second, alright?" Sanders composed himself, and began to speak to us…

"Of old there was the Power. God, the maker, whatever holds your fancy…"

In the beginning, there was only the Power. It floated alone in the Void until it created the First: The Maiar. The Maiar were created with the powers of demigods, able to create and nurture life.

The first five to be brought into being were Darius, a Maiar who created all life to occupy the Universes. Marius, his brother and twin, who created the forces of nature, fire and water and earth and wind… Next was Chira, the Maiar who created friendship, and thus love, amongst mortals. Then, came Gray'Ang, who made the laws and morals that would preserve peace and tranquility in reality. Last came Lathos, who created the Stars to give light to the worlds of mortals.

The Maiar also create their home, Paradise, and bred more of their kind to populate it. While the Maiar were created with one destiny: the creation and preservation of the universe, mortals had a greater gift. They could choose their own destiny and make of it whatever they wanted. While the Power itself rarely, if ever communicated or interfered with the affairs of the Mortals, the Maiar were bound to its will.

The multiverse was at peace. Then, came one being, of a species lost forever in time, with an idea: To control others.

This being gained followers, and chose for the first time, Evil.

The Maiar noted that those who practised Evil should not be allowed into Paradise upon death. They created a giant organism to monitor and sort life upon death, painlessly casting the Evil into the Void, where they would be unmade. 

It was not given any name, but it was given a title.

The Machine.

The Machine performed its task for hundreds of eons, until slowly, it found that it could take the minds and souls of the dead who passed through it. While the Good were still admitted to Paradise, the Evil, that should have been cast into the Void, became part of it. No one missed them. 

The Machine absorbed billions of Evil spirits, and soon, it gained sentience, knowing only one thing in its limited view of the multiverse, have been exposed only to malice, hatred, bigotry, pain and torture for untold years:

Evil was superior to Good. Good must be destroyed.

The Machine achieved sentience and cut itself off from the Maiar. It sent out a call for all of great Evil to come to it and join it. 

Trillions of Mortals found their way to the Machine in its fiery dimension of Tartarus. 

One thousand of them merged through the Machine and had their souls interwoven with evil energies, tied into the very fabric of time and space. They became the Shrikes.

The rest became the first Demons. Dracs. Since they had once been mortal, they could not cross the dimensions on their own and could indeed be killed, but as the Machine sent its call out for Evil to the dead and living alike, new Dracs would always be made.

The Machine made its first attack. Using the Shrikes to lead the Dracs into battle, they attacked the dimension of Tamir-La. They failed.

The Machine deduced that the reason for the failure of is minions, is that they lacked an effective field-commander. A general. The Machine could send its soldiers to the target, but it could not lead them.

It looked into Paradise and saw what it needed. A Maiar on its side. 

Marius and Darius were the most powerful of the Maiar. Of the two, Marius wanted the power to create life and make the universe perfect and fill it with perfect life. Marius was impatient with the slow guiding designs of the Power, and was often chastised by his brother for it.

The Machine appeared to Marius in his dreams. It showed him a path, a way for his plans to unravel themselves upon the universes. 

For ten thousand years, it poisoned his mind.

Over this time, Marius, once the proudest and most beautiful Maiar, became dark and sinister. He covered himself in black and wore an armour of Skulls. 

Marius fashioned himself a sword: Azure Wrath. With this blade, he cut his chest and swore fealty to the voice in his dreams, though he knew not what it truly was.

Darius at last confronted his brother, though it was too late.

The two kinsmen duelled with their blades, Darius bearing a dagger built by Marius as a present. Purposly, Marius made the blade weak and shabby. It quickly broke to the awesome power of Azure Wrath, leaving Darius defenceless.

With that, Marius stabbed his brother through the heart, and the blood of the Maiar that created life was tainted by the evil blade. The blood fell through time and space and into Tartarus. Some fell into the Machine and created the High Demons. Some fell into the fields of fire and spawned the Lesser Demons. 

As this happened, Darius died, his body becoming one with the Power.

Marius changed. His form, once fair a true, became ragged and evil. He would never again assume a form that was pleasing to the eye. He dropped his sword and ran.

Marius fled to Tartarus, where his will joined with the Machine. Marius proclaimed himself the Dark Lord of Hell (a word in the language of the Dracs that means fire) and built his Dark Tower of Gharanz-Tyre.

With that, the name Marius fell into obscurity. That Dark Maiar would be forever more known as Mephisto: The Great Hate.

"So," said Sanders, "That's what Mephisto is. That's what the Shrike, the thing that killed you, serves."

"Maybe so, but what about this whole 'Beast' thing?" asked LaRouche.

"Uh oh," Marco said, sounding worried, "Here's where the shit hits the fan.

"Marco, shut up," Sanders said, sounding pissed at Marcos annoying tone , "David, I'm about to tell you some things you probably aren't going to like. Things that are going to make you mad."

"Tell me. I'm not afraid."

"You will be."

The wars raged for millions of eons, untold lives were lost. 

Mortals took up arms on both sides of the conflict. Every day, the empire of Hell expanded to fill more dimensions with fire and ash, their populations enslaved or killed.

In this time, all the first generation of Maiar, save Chira, were killed. 

At their height of the conflict, Gray'Ang breached the front gates of Gharanz Tyre and caught Mephisto outside the tower. Using Azure Wrath, he duelled with the Dark Lord and wounded him, a mark he still bears. 

Though Gray'Ang was killed, the Machine was alarmed. For the first time, it realized that it could be defeated. 

After much deliberation, it took almost all of its power and poured it into a simple red stone, and named it. 

Ragnarok. Dracish for "Machine Stone".

When Mephisto held the Ragnarok Stone in his hand, his power increased a hundred fold! No mortal or Maiar could stand in his path.

All seemed lost. Hell was on the verge of total domination.

Then, dissention brewed in the ranks of the Machine. A Shrike named Crayak-The Lord of Treason realized that if it could come to possess the Stone, it would dominate Hell.

Crayak rallied the legions of Dracs under its command, as well as all but 13 of the Shrikes to his side. They waged a brutal civil war that lasted for over a thousand years.

In the end, Crayak raided Gharanz-Tyre. It duelled with Mephisto and, partly due to the interference of the Power, cut his hand off. The hand-which bore the Stone-fell into the fabric of time, and was lost.

Crayak, seeing that it would loose, ran. It soon found a universe, and fortified it, barring the minions of the Machine, and all but the most powerful Maiar from entering it, though they could look in and use the Ether-the gap between dimensions-to communicate with it inhabitants in their sleep.

The wars of the Machine were stopped. With all of its power gone, it hadn't the resources left to wage war. Mephisto looked back on the mortals, and in his rage, created the Vampires, dead mortals inhabited with demon souls, to act as his agents on the Mortal plane. 

Still, Puck the Half-Drac, chief servant of Mephisto, had a plan to find the Stone and return it to his master. Puck impregnated a human sorceress with his demonic seed, and the Beast was born. A creature of unimaginable power and sheer ferocity and destruction. It rivalled Mephisto for power and even assailed Gharanze-Tyre itself! 

Puck broke the Beast down, and made the evil and essence of the demon half reside inside a human body. He set each within every universe-even Crayaks-with the objective of destroying it. Even one destruction would set a chain of events in order that would cause the Stone to hop from world to world, space to space, until it reached Hell again. 

While each Beast was named David (Drac for 'Beast') and marked with a 666 (the symbol of Hell) to show its identity, it lacked a human soul. None succeeded, while some indeed came close.

One…just one…redeemed himself, or will, if he is allowed to continue his path. David Hunting has created himself a soul through his actions and feelings. He now has a conscience and has a genuine need inside to do good.

Your path, David Taggart, would have ended up much like his, if not for Pucks intervention. While Hunting was saved by his human comrades who manipulated time and space to achieve their ends, you were forsaken. No help came for you.

"Insane, ain't it?" Asked Marco McCabe with a sly smile.

"You've got to be shitting me…I'm the Antichrist?"

"Well, that's one way of putting it," Sanders replied.

Whistler spoke up, "The Power felt that you had to hear this from someone you knew and trusted. Also considered was former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Randy Rhodes." 

"Not the time, Whistler!"

"Jesus, here I am, a servant of God himself, and I'm working for the devil. Whadda ya know?" Ripper muttered.

"Why tell me this?" I asked, confused, "What does this achieve?" 

"Your not dead for real, yet, David. You cant go one of two ways here," Sanders explained, "You can stay here, with us, and live in Paradise. Just choosing not to go back will be enough to redeem you, but the results of that could be disasterous. The Yeerks would control the entire galaxy within a century, and in that the Machine would win."

"Whats the other choice?" LaRouche asked. 

"Go back. Fight the Shrike. Without you, Aleks, Skorre and Sara will die. I've got to say, I think this is how you have to do it. Everything works out, everything serves the Power. You might succeed in your mission, David, but theres always a failsafe in this little game of life."

I sat down. This was too much to absorb. I was evil incarnate. I would end the world. I would doom every mortal to a life of slavery and torture…Puck was my FATHER…"

"Fuckin' hell," I muttered.

"I've got to go," Marco said, "Lunch time."

I didn't see him leave. I looked at the floor. What was I going to do?

"I cant make you do anything, David. You have to make this choice on your own."

I looked up at Sanders, "I wish I could have been there, with you, when you died. At your side."

"No you don't, David," he said, gravely, "The things that I saw as I died would have destroyed you."

I didn't know what Lewis Sanders meant. It didn't matter. 

I looked at LaRouche. I looked at Ripper, noticing that his teeth were normal and he was clean-shaven and human looking. I had never seen him this way.

"Heaven can wait."

With that, we fell back to mortality.

"Good choice, kid. Now do your fuckin' job. Don't let daddy down," came a sneering, sarcastic voice. 

Puck.

It didn't matter. I opened my eyes, to see Aleks, Skorre, and Sara fighting for their lives.

Time to set things straight. Time to slay a demon.


	35. Part Seven:Demon Seed

Episode Five: Power Of Evil 

Part Seven: Demon Seed

DAVID

~ I killed you! Your dead! You cant be alive!~

Ripper jumped to his feet, clutching his chest: the wound was healed.

LaRouche jumped up, fully healed.

"You cant kill me," I began, not sure of the strange feelings that had come over me, "I've been rejected by death."

Holy living fuck… Aleks stuttered, morphing back to human to heal his wounds.

"It's a miracle!" Sara shouted, fully human again.

~So, Beast. It is down to you, and it is down to me.~

"I know what you are, and I have some vague idea of what I am. You cant scare me, Shrike."

~Wrong. I CAN scare you. I have brought doom to EMPIRES. The mightiest kings and lords prayed to ME to bring DOOM to their enemies. I have slain a hundred Maiar with these hands. If I am defeated, I shall drag you to Hell with me.~

"Let's get it on."

I was ready to fight. So was the Shrike. Something had come over me, I felt bigger, stronger than I had ever before. I felt powerful. I felt awesome.

"Oh no…no way, you fuckin' gringo's. No way are you gringo's gonna fuck with Rico-fuckin-Muerte. No way in Hell!"

Rico Muerte stood bloody and bruised in the corner, holdin two dracon pistols at us.

"This was NOT part of the deal, Puck! Don't do this to me, don't do this, don't do this, please! Shit shit shit shit shit…" 

"I've never seen him like this. Its like he's having a breakdown," said Aleks.

~You cannot harm me, mortal. I am the devourer of worlds, the eater of civilizations, and you are next!~ the Shrike said, looking at Rico.

Suddenly,  I heard a voice in my head.

You can make it do what you want it to do. You're the boss, kid.

Whistler or Puck? It was hard to tell.

"Uh…" I said, unsure, "Kill Rico!" 

~I shall not take orders from the one I was sent to kill!~

OK, bad idea. My bad.

"Nuts to this." I jumped at the Shrike, my hands out.

I made contact.

IT BURNED! The blackness was hot as a fire and twice as painful. Within a moment, it dawned on me that this was not a cloud of darkness, but a thick, black ooze. 

"Shit!" I cried, "What are you, the T-1000?"

"Gut 'em, boss!" Ripper chanted.

I pulled apart the ooze, I saw a bright red glow within.

~GAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!~ came the Shrikes reply.

It stood and flung me back, and into the still unconscious Skorre.

The Shrike stood up, the black ooze dropping off of it, exposing its true form.

A red, humanoid skeleton stood before us. If it weren't or the single cycloptic eye or the lack of a nose and mouth, it would have been almost human. 

Almost.

"That's what it do to it…" LaRouche muttered, "The Machine took the mortality…the skin, the body, and gave the skeleton a new body. That oozey shit…"

~So…much…more!~ The Shrike roared, ~I am tied into the very fabric of TIME! The very essence of the Machine flows through me. I can sense that you have my stone, Beast. GIVE IT TO ME!~

"Your Stone?" I'm pretty sure your boss wants it more than you."

I looked down at the ground, "Hey Mephisto, wherever you are, did you hear that? Got another Crayak on your hands, here!"

Out of time and space, came a single command: "KILL THEM, TYRAK! KILL THEM!"

I walked up to the Shrike, just a big animated red skeleton standing in a pile of black mud, seemingly attempting to crawl back up Its feet.

"Your not much, now are you, Shrike."

~My Lord! I…cannot…the Beast…my power has left me!~

"Wow. Looks like you cant do much without your 'big evil super funky electric-kool-aid Satan groove', now can you?"

~The …Machine…disagrees, my Master, please, please don't destroy me! The Machine does this!~ The Shrike, Tyrak, so mighty and boisterous a moment ago, was now pleading with Its master for Its life.

TSEEEW!

Rico had shot off a Dracon beam! The beam hit with the Shrike, a massive hole appearing in its head.

A black light, pure darkness, beamed from the hole.

The Darkness lingered in the air for a moment, then, disappeared with a puff of red smoke.

The Shrikes skeleton fell to the ground, into the pool of black. The ooze began to dissolve the skeleton.

"Smells like sulfur," noted Aleks, standing at my side.

"Someone check on Skorre. Make sure he's alright," I said absently looking at the remains. The black ooze was eating through the deck like the Bug's blood.

"Damn," I muttered, in astonishment.

"Is it dead?" Sara asked.

"I doubt it."

I was jerked back to life by the sound of Rico Muerte running for the doors. He was trying to escape. 

"He's making a break for it! Get his ass!" Aleks yelled.

Ripper wasted no time. He and LaRouche jumped up and tackled the grown man to the ground.

"Ha ha!" Aleks laughed, "We bagged us a Yeerk Lord!" 

"You little shit, Blades…" Rico said, "Eusshe bailed out a damn long time ago. I saw him get squashed by a dead Hork-Bajir early on. Now let me the fuck go! I'm on your side, dammit!"

What a looser. "Conspiracy with the Yeerks? Collaboration? I think not, little man. You've got a hell of a lot of explaining to do."

"Hey," Sara piped up, from beside Skorre, who was just waking up, "How are we going to get out of here?"

"Shit, she's right," Ripper grumbled, "They'll kill us as soon as we leave this damned room."

"Damn," I said, "Could Rico lead us out?"

"Not a chance, Taggart, I don't know Eusshes security clearance."

"Hey! Something's alive over here!"

Where am I? What the gharlom happened?

"Holy, it's that Andalite-Controller from earlier!" Said Ripper.

Skorre was just getting up, "The one that lead us in here!"

By Gaffens Blade! You freed me!

"I don't buy it, Yeerk," I said, "You cant fool us."

I am freed!

"No, he's telling the truth! Look," Sara said.

Not a foot away from the Andalite was a small grey slug. A Yeerk. Crushed.

I am Spikarezellius-Quillica-Istopholes, son of Mestisicus-Quillica-Jellirian, Prince of the Andalite Federation, known to my comrades as Spike, and by Andalite custom, I swear fealty to you, David Taggart.

LaROUCHE

"You WHAT?" David spat, confused.

If by my life or death I can defend you, I shall. You have freed me. My life for you!

"Look, I don't have time for this. We're trapped in here. We need to get back to our ship, the Anubis. If you cannot help us, stay out of our bloody way."

"I've got an idea," I said, slowly, "Spike could lead us to the ship, like he lead us out, and Rico could pretend to still be infested!"

I do not know the way, said Spike, standing shakily upon his hooves.

"It wouldn't matter. The tunnel is straight from one end to the other. I could handle any problems we might run into," Rico said.

We all looked at David.

He shrugged, "We don't have any better options. Morph Hork-Bajir."

We morphed, and in about three minutes, there were six hulking, yet tired looking Hork-Bajir standing with a tailless Andalite and a tough looking Hispanic human.

Lead the way, Spike, David said.

Spike walked up to the massive blast doors, pressed a button, and the door opened. 

Quick! Skorre said, Grab some guns so that it looks like we're soldiers! 

We quickly obliged and grabbed various Dracon weapons, just as the black doors pulled back to reveal twenty Hork-Bajir and ten humans, all holding guns at us.

"Let us through! We have soldiers here who require medical attention!" Rico said, sureness in his voice.

"I have orders from Visser 10 saying that you all have to be checked out, we cant let those Antimorphs out of here, Sir," Said a twenty-something looking human.

"How DARE you defy an order from me!"Muerte bellowed, playing his part, " How DARE you follow the orders of Nodnarb 395 over mine! Corporal, execute this insolent fool!"

Aleks raised his Dracon beam, and let loose a shot. He struck the Controller dead.

The body dumped to the ground.

"Now, let us pass!"

"Sir, where are the Antimorphs?"

"Dead. Their carcass's are within."

We must hurry, when they do not see your morphs, they will be after us! Said Spike in private thought speeche. 

For the cold-blooded murderer that his Yeerk had made him out to be, he sure seemed pretty damn nice.

Our group began walking at a quickened pace. 

"Hey! Their aren't ant Aorkian bodies in here! Get them!"

"SHIT!" Rico yelled.

Run for it! David commanded.

I wasn't one to argue.

We ran, Dracon beams flying behind us.

"Don't shoot them, you idiots! Visser 11 wants them alive!"

"Visser 10 wants them dead! Fire! Fire! Fire!"

"There it is!" Said Skorre.

We were just a few meters from the doors to the landing platform, where our Bug Fighter awaited.

Ripper and Sara were the first ones onto the pad. Then David. Then me. 

In a flash, Ripper was inside the Bug-Fighter, starting it up.

Demorph! We wont have enough room!

The eight of us smooshed within the tiny fighter wasn't comfortable. We all began to demorph to human.

Ripper had us up.

"Cloak us!" David said.

Ripper pressed some buttons, and the Bug Fighter disappeared from the radar and views of the Yeerks. 

As we flew into space, we were home free.

For now.

CITY OF LUD CONTROL BUILDING, ONE DAY LATER…

Efflit 1318 was in big trouble, and he knew it.

He stood facing a very irate Yeerk Emperor via holograph. 

"Eusshe is dead," The Emperor said, " Many of my best soldiers…are dead. My new superweapon's integrity has been compromised. Visser 17 and Sub-Visser thrity-nine…are DEAD!" 

"My Visser… the situation was out of my control…"

"Don't lie to me, Efflit, I gave you the Demonoids and now, two of them are dead! Slip's testimony to your incompetence is damning! Roach and Coil are dead! I gave you every chance in the world to do a simple task, and you FAILED."

"There was something else, a black humanoid creature."

The Emperor paused, "No doubt one of the Antimorphs."

He continued, "Efflit, this is your last call. If you fail me with the Eye, then I shall…end you. Is this clear?"

"Perfectly clear, my Emperor."

Without another word, Sauron 001 disengaged the holograph, leaving Efflit alone.

"Well," Efflit muttered, "Time to pull the big guns."

Efflit walked to the wall and sent an order to his blade ship through the communicator.

"Bring me the parents of David Taggart."

END OF EPISODE FIVE

WOW! Five down, two to go! This will be complete before Christmas, so expect a lot of updates, often!

If you have any comments, or just want to chat, add me to your MSN at elcolo9@hotmail.com. Feel free to email me, as well.

-Elcolo9


	36. Episode Six:In Akdors Eye: Part One The ...

Episode Six: In Akdor's Eye 

Part One: The Becoming, Part Two

Puck: Noun, a mischief-making sprite of folklore, often cavorting and accosting humans….

NOVEMBER SIXTEENTH, 2000, SOMEWHERE IN THE ETHER…

Puck the half-Drac stood in the Ether, the gap between dimensions, the gateway into dreams, a deeper portion of what some mortals would call Z-Space, others calling Hyperspace, it had many names among mortals. None correct.

Puck was depressed. Taggart had a death-mark on his head, his Master was in a foul mood, Duriel was being a snot-nosed fool, and Tyrak, the Shrike who had been sent after the Antimorphs, had returned broken and defeated to Gharanz-Tyre. The Machine had stripped It of all power. It was now making amends.

"Time to pay my favourite little Kelbrid midget a visit," Puck mused.

With a thought, Puck was within the confines of Crayaks fortified dimension, in the mind of The Drode: Crayaks chief lackey. 

The Drodes mind was asleep, so Puck made himself available in a dream. Even all of Crayaks power hadn't stopped him from putting the Beast inside in the form of David Hunting. Some things you couldn't change, no matter how much power you had. Dreams were one of them. 

When a mind was asleep, it was easily susceptible to invasion from foreign powers. If you had the power to cross dimensions, you could use the Ether as a jumping point to get wherever you want, assuming you had the ability to force your way in.

Compared to Puck, the Drode was weak and flabby, even though their jobs and positions were essentially the same.

"Oh damn! Not you again, Quinz!"

The Drode was now fully aware of Pucks presence, and took a form, a mirror copy of its flesh and blood body.

"Nice to see you again, too, Drode. Been working out?" Puck sneered sarcastically.

"Cram it, Quinz! What business do you have here, besides trying to mess with my life? Why cant you just leave this dimension alone? Just leave Hunting alone!"

"No can do, little man. Hunting is going to be very important to Taggart. Very important. Hunting could still go either way, you know. Ever since that little incident with the Time Matrix he's been on the edge. Oh, and I especially enjoyed the nice long rant you gave. You know the one, where you revealed my entire plan to them? Well, not all of it, but I think a few of them actually got the idea. You know what would happen if The Machine took this world, don't you? Crayak would be unmade, and you would be tortured…by me…for all infinity."

"Come on! What do you have with coming here and mocking me, Quinz? I'm just a messenger, why do you have to keep picking on me?" The Drode sounded much like a school boy who was being teased by a bigger, uglier bully. He was practically whining.

"Listen, you obviously don't know what your talking about. Want to hear a little story?"

"No, but I have a feeling your going to tell me anyway."

"Damn straight I am. Where do I begin?"

The Drode muttered, "Maybe at the beginning."

"Good idea. You know Drode, there are moments that can change a person for all time, and change the universe they occupy with it. Single, powerful moments. You'll see what I mean."

LONG, LONG AGO…DIMENSION OF EDEN…

Quinz the Hass was not more than twenty cycles the day his world changed. 

The world of the Haas was perfect. There was no other word for it.

Quinz say under a giant Kuluptos tree, eating a sweet Visma fruit, a female lying naked at his side. 

His world had fields of long, purple grass, a comfortable, temperate climate, six moons and a green sun. It was, considered by the Maiar, to be the jewel of all Realities.

"Tell me, Thenz, do you ever wonder if there is more than this? A greater…purpose, to existence?"

"Mmmm…no…" Said the female, purring softly, attempting to stroke Quinz's genitalia, though the larger male resisted her advances.

"Life has to be more than just eating and mating, why do our people not leave this world? We have intelligence, why not use it?"

"Anyanka didn't make us for that, Quinz, she made us to be…happy. Not soldiers. Not warriors. Why do you think we don't go and fight with the other races, against the Dracs?"

"Because we aren't threatened. No Demon can get in here, not until a Haas lets them. Our 'gift' is being able to control who comes in and out. You should know that best of all, Thenz, your father is the Gate-Keeper."

"I don't concern myself with that stuff. It isn't my place. Thinking like that, fighting and traveling, and technology, is what made Marius Fall."

"You know, people outside this dimension are afraid of even saying that name? Even the Maiar don't like to say it."

"I don't get you."

"Marius wasn't doing a bad thing in leaving. He was choosing His own path. Who gets to define morality? The Power? The Maiar? Us? Marius did what He wanted. He isn't evil. He knows what He wants and takes it," Quinz said, "Wish I could be like that."

Quinz fell back, into a deep, dark sleep. 

In his dreams was a figure. Not a Haas, not a Maiar either. It was Mephisto, speaking to him, calling to him.

"Let me in, and I shall give you all you desire. Let me in, Quinz. Let me in and all you desire shall be yours. Let me in."

As Quinz awoke, he still heard, in his back mind, "Let me in…"

"Let me in!" Quinz called out, waking up alone under the tree. 

Thenz was gone. How typical. Probably went off to screw some other male. All the Haas did was eat and fuck. Eat and fuck. Eat and fuck.

"I can't take this world anymore!" Yelled Quinz, standing up on his thick hooves. He looked like what one race, the humans, called a Satyr. All Satyr's did was eat, get drunk and fuck. 

Life was so empty.

But it was all he had.

"What do I do?" asked Quinz, to the air, and thinking aloud.

The wind seemed to carry a voice.

"Let me in."

"Then that is what I shall do."

Quinz moved across the vast plains of Eden through the night, towards the nearby kingdom of Aman, where the Gate-Keeper dwelled.

The Gate-Keeper alone had the power to open the doors to Eden. The Gate itself was a hundred meter in diameter stone seal on the ground. The Gate-Keeper carried a key that would let any who wished to cross over, do so.

When Quinz arrived in Aman, he found no guards. No sentries. No walls or defences.

Quinz was angry, "Are you so foolish you would leave your backs exposed?" He cried to the air.

Aman was asleep. Only a few Haas were in the streets, drinking Lespos Juices and mating. 

For the first time in his life, Quinz saw how small things really were. How menial their lives. It was…beneath him.

The happy and go-lucky behavior of his peers sickened him. It was meaningless! And to think, just a few hours ago, he had been one of them; so small and insignificant. No purpose but to procreate. A life without substance. 

The males led their lives with their dicks, unable to find one female to actually LOVE. 

"Lots of love-MAKING but no Power-damned LOVE in here," Quinz muttered as he walked the streets of Aman. Streets that the Haas hadn't even built for themselves. Houses and inns and statues and hospitals and temples…all built for them, from the Maiar. 

"We don't even fucking FARM!" Quinz ranted, throwing a nearby, Zeltaip (an alchoholic substance) sapling. 

"They do it FOR us!"

By now, the few Haas still in the street were looking right at him. The crazy male, doing things and showing behavior that was not in their nature.

For a moment, all just stood still. No one moving, or speaking. No one breathing. Just looking.

"You…disgust me." Said Quinz, slowly and cold.

Quinz resumed walking, not sure what had brought over his sudden new revelations on life. Was it the fact that Thenz never understood him? Something that had been building up for years, waiting to come out? The fact that life had just become boring? The strange dream he had had just hours before?

It didn't matter. Ahead of him, stood Thenz's father: Jilix-Qua, the Gate-Keeper.

"Young Quinz? Is that you? Why come you to Aman, at this time of night? Why are you so distressed?"

"Distressed?" Said Quinz, laughing at the audacity of it, "Distressed? No, it is not I! But you, who would call yourself Gate-Keeper, it is YOU who shall soon be distressed!"

Quinz looked at the old Haas, and saw the key, made of blue stones, hanging from a simple rope pendant around Jilix-Qua's neck. 

"Out of my way, old fool," said Quinz, calmly, yanking the key from Jilix-Qua's neck and pushing him aside.

"He took the key!" Said someone, in a new crowd of Haas that had been awakened by the commotion.

"He's gone mad!" said another.

Quinz didn't care. Barely a hundred feet along was the Gate. And, at the nearest end, the Alter, where the key would be inserted to open it.

"Quinz!" Said the old Gate-Keeper, "Give me my key!"

"Your key?" Asked Quinz, turning back towards Jilix-Qua, sneering, "YOUR KEY? It is not YOUR key, you old fool, it is now HIS key."

With that, Quinz did something that no Haas had ever before done. 

He raised his fist, and punched the Gate-Keeper, knocking him down.

The crowd went up in gasps. All were shocked. But they made way for Quinz, on his walk to the Alter. No one attempted to stop him, though with every opportunity, they could have prevented disaster.

When he reached the Alter, Quinz raised the key into the air, slamming it down into the stone.

Suddenly,  a loud rumble was heard. The rumble became a scream of pure malice and terror.

The Gate turned a bright red, and the stone exploded. 

Wave after wave of Drac's poured out, into the sky. The crowd was screaming now,the sky had turned pitch black. The stars themselves were gone from the sky.

Fire was everywhere. Drac's poured from the Gate like blood pouring from a wound.

But none touched Quinz. He just stood there in amazement.

To most, the scene would seem like the ultimate evil. Innocents caught up in an invasion and a genocide.

Quinz saw it as a cleansing. A new start for a better, more efficient world. A clean slate.

Then, a single Drac, a Drac-lord (known as a Dracyak) landed before him.

"Drink." Came the same cold voice from the wind.

And so Quinz did. He slammed hi teeth into the Dracyak's neck, burning red blood flowing all around. Quinz swallowed it all. 

The Dracyak fell dead.

Quinz stood tall. From his head, two horns sprouted. His eyes narrowed and his skin turned a burning red.

"Serve me. Serve me and you shall be a god."

Quinz needed nothing more.

"I shall serve you."

CITY OF GOMORRAH, TERRA FIRMA, 1290 BCE…

The Sorceress, Velana, stood in her cold tent. Waiting for the Demon to show was always a chore. Rarely was Dezmadonus on time, and rarely did he have many manners.

Velana had sacrificed a lot to have her powers-used almost always for the good of her city- including dealing with the Demon worlds. 

Dezmadonus claimed himself to be only a businessman. He may have been. But like all businessmen, he was a liar.

Velana was young-only nineteen- and had never before known the touch of a man. The Demons had told her that if she did, her powers would be gone and she would be but a peasant woman again, a whore like her mother. 

Just when she had given up all hope, Dezmadonus appeared.

He looked much like the tales of Satyre's from the Greek-lands to the north west, though he bore horns and dark crimson skin. His humanoid features were both sinister and handsome at the same time. He never asked much; a pig, a chicken, an infant, to sacrifice. 

Until tonight.

"Sorry I'm late. The boss was really ridin' me."

"What tribute must I pay this night?" Asked Velana, slowly and cautiously.

"Well, unfortunetly for you, a simple sacrifice wont cut it this time. What WILL…well…I'm afraid that my new plan would get only one thing… I haven't gotten a fuck since I rammed Thenz. And that was eons ago!"

With that, Dezmadonus slapped Velana to the ground, kicked her with his hooves, and violated her. 

The union of the half-Drac and the human sorceress shook the city of Gomorrah to the ground. 

One day later…the Beast was born, killing its own mother on its way into the world. It assaulted the nearby City of Sodom. None survived. 

……………………………………………………..

"And the rest," Said Puck, "as they say, is history."

"Quite a story," Said the Drode, "And just WHY have you told it to me?"

"Tell your master we know whats going to happen with Hunting. My boy Taggart will whoop his sorry ass. And when he does, its open hunting season on his ass, same with that goofy schmuck, Ellimist. Oh, pardon my pun."

"I'll make sure he gets the message."

"And remember, Drode, I wasn't as different as you were. Feel free to tease those Animorphs a bit more. I love to see them squirm."

As he left the Ether, Puck said, "Good luck with that little bitch Rachel. Seriously. Your going to need it. Big time."

And he was gone. 

AUTHORS NOTE: Remember: Keep up to date with One Least Likely by Augestine Quill to get the complete story!

Episode six will be a little darker than previous episodes. Only two more to go!


	37. Part Two:Countdown To Extinction

Episode Six: In Akdors Eye 

Part Two: Countdown To Extinction

DECEMBER 2nd, 2000, ANTIMORPH BASE ON REKLAABB V…

DAVID

We'd fled back to our hideout on Reklaabb V after the disaster at Nahara, with our two new allies.

Spike was OK. He had sworn fealty to me and the crew. With his military and tactical knowledge, he was a formidable ally, even without a tail.

Rico Muerte was another subject all together. Aleks, his former right hand man, had rejected him completely. He hadn't won any other friends on our crew. 

He was conniving. Remote. The second we looked away to scratch out asses, he'd jump out at us to fulfill whatever plan he was cooking up.

I was tempted to shoot the spic son of a bitch right there, but our knowledge gained from the disc we had intercepted on the Bug-infested moon was running out. Most of the information had been changed, and it contained limited information on their "Eye" project. 

Rico knew things, and we needed him alive because of it.

Good thing all trace of Britz was gone. He'd probably have tried to kill us all by now. Lousy computer son of a bitch.

We'd all been distant and quiet since we'd landed. The Empire's search for us had intensified. The YNN was broadcasting bulletins 24/7 for us. 

The Yeerks were finally very afraid. The fact that our little band was a substantial threat to their empire was finally beginning to sink in. 

Still, they were cooking something. Something very, very big. Big enough to have a fifth of their entire fleet blockading Nahara. Big enough to warrant the personal inspection of the Emperor. Big enough to cause the intense fighting on the Andalite front to die down temporarily as the consolidated their plans.

I had called  meeting in the grand hall of the ancient Xel'Naga temple. Everyone was there, including Rico, who was adequately restrained by Skorre, and Spike, standing grim on the far side of the room. 

"Well, it's that wonderful time again," I said, addressing my comrades, "Time to make our next move."

"I say we take the fight to them!" Ripper cackled, "Go after the Emperor, take it to the homeworld!"

"If we want to take the fight to the Emperor, we have to go back to Nahara," LaRouche said, "The disk says that something BIG is going down there. And we saw all the fleets coming in to guard the planet as we made the jump to Z-Space last time we were there.

"You've got no clue what their building, though," sneered Rico, "And you won't know, either, until it comes up and bites you in the asshole."

"You seem to know pretty well, Muerte," Aleks countered.

"You've known me since you were fourteen, Stantford. I've always got an ace in my sleeves."

"Yeah, but I never suspected how big that ace was," Aleks replied.

What every they are building, the security is paramount. Even my Yeerk was not aware of the details.

"And they may have more Demonoids," Skorre pointed out.

"We killed the Trio, but it took a lot out of us," Sara agreed, "If they had an army of those things, who knows what they could do?"

"We've got a powerful mother fucker ourselves," Ripper said, looking at me.

The knowledge me, Ripper and LaRouche had gained while…dead, was showing on all of us. LaRouche had become very withdrawn and hesitant to follow commands, Ripper, once believing that I was a soldier of God, now saw me as Jesus H. Christ himself, even though I was the 'Beast.'

"David did take out that Shrike-thing," agreed Sara.

I paused, not responding to Sara's comment, but looking to Rico Muerte, "Tell us what you know."

Rico looked around begrudgingly. "What will happen if I don't?"

"We'll execute you by pouring molten silver into your eyes and throat," Said Ripper, matter-of-factly.

"'Ol Silver-backed Muerte," Laughed Aleks.

Rico looked around, nervous, and hesitantly spoke, "It's a weapon, of unimaginable power. Sauron stole the plans from some empire on the other side of the universe or something. It can turn an entire planet into wasteland of molten slag, make it un-inhabitable. He wants to turn it loose on the Garatron planet-there's a rebellion there, and they can't use the planet because there aren't any natural resources and shit- than take it to the Andalites and presto! The Yeerk Empire has complete control of the galaxy, until they invade Confederate space."

"Confederates?" Asked LaRouche.

"The Kelbrid Confederacy. It's a massive Empire that borders the Andalite Federation. The Yeerks have never seen a Kebrid, but if they can get the Andalites, they should have no problem subjugating the Kelbrids."

Grim news, indeed.

"What are our options?" I asked.

Take the fight to the Yeerkish Hordes! Destroy their weapon and their Emperor, all in one blow. As a friend of mine, Arbron Son of Falbron said, 'Put some tail to them!' Spike said vigorously. 

"You ain't got no tail, you Carver wanna be," Muttered Ripper.

The principal is the same.

I asked Rico, "When is the weapon supposed to be finished?"

"I don't know…maybe a few weeks?"

I thought for a moment, but if we really wanted to take out the Empire, there was only one choice.

"Let's do it."

IMPERIAL POOL SHIP TYRANT, IN ORBIT OF NAHARA…

Efflit 1318's new command ship was brand new, a Basilisk class warship. Much better than the old Gorgon class. 

Of course, the Captain was a pain in the behind.

Slip, unfortunately, had survived the confrontation on the planet below, with a hand torn off. The once human hand had been replaced with a mechanical limb.

Slip was troubling Efflit at the moment. The Demonoid flexed it's new bio-mechanical arm, a sharp and vicious claw that was capable of summoning Dracon plasma as a weapon. The Emperor had made Slip an honorary Sub-Visser, and a Captain. He was still in command of security on Nahara.

The grisly mix of human, Demon and machine looked coldly at Visse Eleven, "The Emperor will arrive in four days."

"I know that," Efflit said, flicking his hosts attractive, blond hair back over the shoulder. Military regulations called for human host hair to be shaven to the scalp to avoid parasites and sanitary problems, but Visser's always had a right of way to get around the rules.

"And he know's that Taggart will come."

Efflit's heart suddenly filled with dread.

Whats the matter, Yeerk? Afraid to fail, again? Asked the long imprisoned voice of Rachel Berenson. 

If I fail, both of us shall be killed, you human fool, Efflit replied, Our fates are interwined, surely you can see that?

The only thing I see is a Colonel Klink who is letting Hogan run circles around him. Said Rachel, laughing in their shared mind.

"The Emperor wants Taggart. While he is here. The Demonstration on Gara must go through as planned."

Efflit stood straight up, looking into the Demonoids eyes.

"He wages this war of his for one thing. His parents. His life. When he turns on the YNN and sees Hork-Bajir with their blades to the throats of his mommy and daddy, he will come."

"If you only knew what he was, your confidence in this plot of yours would be minute."

"Why don't you tell me, then, Slip?"

"He is Hell."


	38. Part Three:The Eye Of Akdor

Episode Six: In Akdors Eye 

Part Three: The Eye Of Akdor

DECEMBER SIXTH, 2000, ERIALIS SHIPYARDS OF NAHARA…

The personal Destroyer-class Warship of the Emperor emerged like a grim Leviathan from Z-Space. Over a mile in length and a quarter that in its width, it dwarfed any other ship in the fleet. It was named Iron Fist, and lived up to its name. It held twelve wings of Bug Fighters,almost eighteen hundred ships, and thousands of shock troopers and weapons of terror and fear. It's primary weapon was psychological: No fleet the Andalites held dared to oppose it.

For Efflit 1138 and the Demonoid known as Slip, the terror inside was more horrifying than all the weapons that the ship held: The Emperor himself, coming to activate the new flagship of the Empire.

A shuttle dropped from the belly of the Fist, flanked by a dozen Bug Fighters, keeping watch for any ambush. No Andalite would dare to assault the shuttle. 

As it approached the Shipyard Docking Station, Efflit found himself recalling the last time such a visitor had arrived, and that had turned out quite badly for him, in the end.

Efflit would not meet with the Emperor. Neither would Slip. In the docking bay, His Highness would be met with a guard of three dozen Hork-Bajir and escorted promptly to his throne room on the adjoining 'Eye' ship. 

Slip stood tall and imposing beside the Visser. "Both our hides are on the line, dude."

"Do not call me 'dude,' Slip."

"Whatever. You sure Taggart will come for his parents?"

"Very sure. I had the message put on the YNN last night. He's probably on his miserable way already."

Slip flexed his Demon arm, an extending, grey spike, "The Emperor knows what he is. How do you know that he's not planning to have Taggart come finish you off? And me, too, by that."

"Slip, while you and your friends made your living as gangsters and thugs on Terra Firma, I served as the second in command to Esplin 9466, commander of the invasion. He fumbled dozens of times in more than two years. In little more than half a year, I have succeeded more than he ever had."

"Define success." Slip said with a slight smile.

"This guerrilla group has done more damage to the Empire than the group my host once sided with, the Animorphs. Rachel Berenson was David Taggart's greatest enemy among the humans. They are very much alike: both prone to violence and cruelty, both leaders and brutal in their tactics. She knows how they think. Rachel would come if it was her young sisters or mother held captive. David will come for his parents, and when he does, I shall take him myself. I will see my highest lieutenants within his followers heads, then drown him amongst the rats and oily water."

ANTIMORPH FLAGSHIP, ANUBIS, APPROACHING NAHARA…

SKORRE

I was helping Marc LaRouche to sort the various ammunition stockpiles, things we had plundered from various sources over the previous months, but put off until it made a massive chore.

"What's going to happen to us, Skorre?"

I was taken back by LaRouche's question. 

"What do you mean?"

"David keeps sending us against the Yeerks. It's only a matter of time until one of us buys the fuckin' farm. And the lease on that is shitty."

"You worry about the future?" I asked, sorting Dracon charges strewn amongst Shredder power cells.

"When David picked me up, I was a nerdy, antisocial kid. My parents were never around. No friends. I don't have anything to fight for on Earth. I can't even remember what my own mother looks like," LaRouche paused for a moment, sniffing, though he tried to hide it, "David wants his parents freed from infestation. He wants Earth to be freed. I would be happier just giving up to the Andalites, settling down, have a kid or something."

If LaRouche knew my hatred of Andalites, he did not hold back any of his opinions on the matter.

"With whom would you mate?" I asked.

LaRouche said nothing, but then spoke in a low tone, "I've seen Sara, the way she looks at Ripper. She's got a crush on him or something."

"She talks to him," I agreed, "But I know not of what they speak."

"I've noticed something. Ripper's become more humane, less wild, over the past few months, since we hijacked the Sehkmet."

"I have as well. But he still has moments when he goes mad, like at the Visser's summit."

LaRouche agreed, "He's unpredictable."

A pause for a moment.

"So what the Hell are we going to do? If we keep this up, we're going to lose sooner or later. The luck will run out."

"I could report you to David. I owe him my life and my freedom. If not for him, I would be among my people when the Yeerks took them, then incinerated when you destroyed their valley."

"Everyone owes David something. I don't. You know, he pretty much kidnapped me. I fuckin' fainted when he showed up, then he beamed me up."

I paused for a moment. LaRouche had been abducted?

"Frankly I don't give a shit. I want to get out of here with my body in tact. Aleks wouldn't help me, he's just a power mad freak, almost worse than David. Ripper's completely insane. You could come with me. And Sara. Blow this joint and get out of here."

I said nothing. 

"What do you say?" Asked Marc LaRouche.

"I owe David my life. I will stand with him until his end. Or mine. You may go your own way, Marc LaRouche, and I will not hinder you. But I cannot stop David from what he may do."

DAVID

We were cloaked, our modified system invisible to any scanner the Yeerks had watching the sky. Completely undetected. 

And just the way I wanted it.

I had summoned LaRouche to the bridge, for our new task.

"This could be it, LaRouche," I said, "Our chance to take out the Yeerks in one thrust, and get what I came for."

"How would we do that?" He asked incredulously.

"Why, we take control of whatever weapon they are building and use it against them. It worked very effectively on the Sehkmet, so why not here?"

LaRouche nodded grimly, "And what do you want me to do?"

I smiled, "We're going undercover."

We took one of the small, cramped shuttlecraft from the hanger and morphed to Gedd. LaRouche had aquired his Gedd morph a few weeks ago when we put in at a small Skrit Na space station and jumped a few Gedd-Controllers for their money and weapons. 

LaRouche had aquired this body, knowing that it might be useful in the future. You never really know, do you?

LaRouche piloted the shuttle towards the Yeerk armada. It consisted of a Pool Ship, the Tyrant,  a long, imposing vessel that I knew was the Iron Fist, a few dozen Lancers, two long, flat carrier ships, each holding two dozen wings of Bug Fighters, and several support ships. In the distance was a Blade Ship, that I suppose belonged to Visser 11. They were all situated around a massive platform, the shipyards, where a few Pool Ships and carrier's were under construction. Near the middle was a massive gap. Something was there, but it was cloaked. Several supply and command ships were floating around it.

Our communicators came to life. "Unidentified shuttlecraft: What is your destination and clearance?"

I put my Gedd lips to the very small microphone, "Rrrromputerrrr rrrepaaiiirr, on the Tyyyrraaant. Sub-Visserrr fourrrr hundrrred six orrrrderrrs," I slurred with my oversized Gedd tongue, in Yeerkish.

There was a pause. 

"You are cleared. Proceed to docking bay fourteen."

LaRouche piloted the ship to the docking bay, in sector four of the Tyrant, and exited. The Yeerks had identification of the Anubis and both Bug Fighters, but not our shuttles. Even the Yeerks didn't specify theirs. Too many, and too insignificant to bother with. 

We have an hour and twenty minutes left before we have to demorph, I said in thought-speech to LaRouche, glancing at the digital clock on the control panel, Let's find whatever the fuck their building here, then get our asses out!

We wandered the corridors of the Tyrant. Everywhere were Hork-Bajir and humans, with the occasional Andalite trotting past. A few Naharans and Sstram roamed, but it was mostly officers and soldiers. Visser 11 had amassed more controllers than normal to his Pool Ship, probably siphoned off from the rest of his fleet.

Or, they were the Emperor's High Guards. Much more deadly than the average controller.

We need to find the bridge. Maybe we can see whats up from there, LaRouche offered.

Good idea. We have at lead fifty minutes left.

It took us about twenty minutes to find the bridge, and another ten to get cleared with security. Finally, we were standing in the bustle of the command center, many controllers, mostly humans, standing all around us. 

But with my cold, weak, Gedd eyes, I could still make out two figures near the window.

One was our prime nemesis, Efflit 1318. 

The other was the Emperor.

And beyond them, outside the window, was a massive, massive, massive construct. Standing vertically in space, it was a giant cone, one end tipped, with small buildings jutting out from the sides.

Look at the size of that thing… LaRouche said.

He was right. It was colossal. 

That's got to be…at least ten miles long, I said, comparing it to the size of the Iron Fist.

But what is it? LaRouche asked, slowly.

Visser 11 answered his question promptly.

"Behold, my Lord," he said with pride, "The final fury of the greatest hero of the Yeerk Empire, subjugator of the Hork-Bajir, the Wrath of Sulp-Niar, and the designer of our greatest ships and weapons, the Eye of Akdor."

Holy shit… I blurted to LaRouche.

Efflit smiled, "In death, he shall destroy them all."


	39. Part Four:Road To Oblivion

Episode Six: In Akdors Eye 

Part Four: Road To Oblivion

ALEKS

David and LaRouche had gone off about two hours ago to investigate the Yeerks new superweapon. I kept watch on the Anubis. 

I hated Rico for what he had done. He had saved me from prison after I stabbed a cop and helped Roach, Slip and Coil in attacking an Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department station. He was like a surrogate dad to me. He taught me everything I knew, and under him, Slip and I were his most trusted soldiers.

But all the time he had been a controller. A Yeerk lived inside his head. Whats worse, he was a voluntary. That fucking Yeerk and him shared a glory. The Rampage was nothing less than an extension of the Yeerks military campaign on Earth. We had supplied security to a group called The Sharing, really just a Yeerk front organization. We had trafficked Yeerk weapons and technology around the region. 

Rico/Eusshe was an even bigger liar. He was taking bribes from someone named Jo Bob Fenester, a rogue Yeerk, and the head of Web Access America, to supply mercenaries and security at his compound. 

I had killed about sixty people in my life before David found me. Most of them were enemies of the Empire.

I had been…fucking used. By the person I trusted most. And Rico Muerte would pay for it. He would pay with his life.

When no one else was around, I looked into the Red Stone, to tell me what to do.

The creature inside the Stone talked to me. It told me of everything that could be mine if only I would aide it. But it told me that the time had not yet come to make my move. But soon. Very soon. 

That would be the time. Then…I would be a god.

I genuinely liked Spike. He was a ruthless soldier, and punished by his own people because of it. He was my kind of man. 

But he was also an ass-kisser. He did whatever the fuck David told him to do. He was always trying to point out the best ways of attack. 

The best place for Spike was beneath me. To speak only when commanded. To jump when he was told. 

When I killed Sanders to become air commander, and the Antimorphs second in command, I was committing mutiny. I don't see much of a problem with doing whatever I can to get ahead. Neither does Spike, save that he still try's to keep a demented sense of honour about him. He wants a Prince to give him orders, just so he could put them to the limit. 

Spike could be dangerous. But he was likeable, especially to one such as myself. He needed to be kept in check.

I was in my room, listening to a MegaDeth CD, and finding a vein in my arm for the shot. I loaded up the hypodermic needle and inserted it, winching in the slight pain as it broke my skin. I pushed the heroin into my bloodstream and began to feel the effects of the narcotic. The world slowed itself down, things became blurry and out of focus. Problems just seemed to go…away. It's a wonderful feeling. 

That's about when we got the transmission. From LaRouche.

"Aleks, you'd better come up and see this," Said Sara over the Anubis's intercom.

I put on some pants and shook myself awake from my drug induced stupor, and climbed through the Anubis to the bridge.

I saw the screen as soon as I came in, playing a twisted, garbled, and out of focus message. 

LaRouche stood in a dark, small space, holding the recorder. He was in his normal form, but behind him was David, as a Hork-Bajir

"Aleks…It's LaRouche…we've..it…'s fucking huge…of Akdor…gotta destroy it now…in dry dock…'ot operational…need help, now!"

"It's all fuzzy," observed Ripper, squinting up at the screen.

"How well deduced, Holms," I mocked.

We can get there in ten minutes at a medium burn, Offered Spike.

"We go. Let's blow the fuck out of them."

As soon as I gave the order, Spike punched up the burn.

Time to shine…

DAVID

LaRouche and I had killed a Taxxon computer worker and stolen some its equipment, patching into the comm. Link and sending a fuzzy and garbled message to the Anubis. With luck, they should be on their way.

We had no sooner sent our findings back to the ship when I heard Slip's cocky voice.

"Wait a second…I smell something."

"Shit," I muttered, "He's got a Demon's senses."

"Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum, I smell the blood of David, Taggarts Son," Slip cackled, "In the tech room."

As he said those words, the doors kicked in. There stood the patchwork creation of human, Demon and now, machine, that made up Slip the Demonoid, flanked by four Hork-Bajir and an Andalite. 

Slip raised his cold, mechanical claw and hoisted LaRouche over his shoulder, then took his gnarled, twisted spine and, as the point contracted, used this new hand to ensnare me.

I kicked, hitting Slip in the nut sack. LaRouche followed my lead and swung his fist at Slip's neck. He was a lot taller than he had been when he was human. Demon blood does some wack things.

"Nice try, kids," He laughed, "Look here, Visser, I've got a little present for us, and Christmas isn't for a few weeks!"

Efflit 1318, in the tall, volumptuous and handsome body of Rachel Berenson, ex-Animorph, strode in.

"By Carger's Blade!" Exclaimed the Visser, chortling, " My plan worked! Two Antimorphs, in my grasp!"

"Fuck you, Yeerk!" I spat.

"And I had your parents as bait, though I didn't really need to bother, did I? All things come to he who waits, don't they?"

"My parents…" I stammered, filled with rage, "Free them at once, you Kandrona-feeding slimy little fuck-slug…" 

Efflit cut into my tirade, "Language, language, Mr. Taggart. You are in no position to demand anything."

"I'll kill you!"

"Yes, you did swear to end my life, didn't you? Something along the lines of "even if all my bones are broken, I will drag myself back from the dead to kill you…" some rubbish like that? I really found it quite amusing, you know, that you decided to quote a MegaDeth song."

"Gotta admire Dave Mustaine," LaRouche muttered.

Efflit let out a smile, "Indeed. You know, David, you and I are much alike. When I helped command the Terra Firma invasion force under the late Visser Three, I was noted for my…shall we say, extreme tactics. You are much like me, human. You murdered thousands of humans and Yeerks in Berlin and Tokyo. You destroyed a pool ship as a diversion. You let those…biological weapons…loose on the moon, killing hundreds. You crucified Tak Sistranus and left him as a bloody message. You murdered an entire crew of an unarmed freighter and, destroyed an entire world of our people. Millions, dead. That planet is now obsolete, did you know that, Taggart? Over 80 percent casualties. I had pool-bretheren on that world. Many of us did. You, Taggart, as a mortal creature, have more drive, more of an appetite for destruction, than any other being I have ever known of."

"Don't talk like that, you monster," I said in a low, evil growl. 

"Monster?" said Efflit, surprised, " At least I have a purpose. I am a soldier, and I fight for my species and my people, and the glory of our Empire! What do you fight for, Taggart? What's your glory?"

"MY people," I said, angrily.

"YOUR people? Asked Efflit, incredulously, " You murdered YOUR people in droves! You flushed your ALLIES into space! You assassinated an unarmed negotiator in Tokyo. Every little shred of opportunity for peace, you have spat on. You are a fool and a hypocrite."

He spoke on, "Since you have shown such…diabolical tactics, we shall as well. The Eye of Akdor shall be tested on the rebelling world of Gara. Then, you will watch as your parents are executed," He said with a cruel smile, "By me."

We stared at each other in silence for a moment, neither group speaking in the least. Finally, a human lieutenant spoke, " Visser, the Pool-Ship Judicator has joined the armada. Visser ten wishes to know our status and plan of action."

"You just heard it, Silnay. Inform Visser ten. The Antimorph ship Anubis will be coming soon, to respond to the message these two sent. That hothead Aleksander will come in Dracons blasting, and the Judicator can handle him. I believe it is finally time for young Mr. Taggart and his lacky, LaRouche, to meet the Emperor."

"Does he wear cloths?" I asked snidely, but was met only with a violent buring from Slip's other hand. Dracon power flooded into me, and I passed out.


	40. Part Five:Face To Face

Episode Six: In Akdors Eye 

Part Five: Face To Face

RIPPER

We pulled out of the burn to see the space docks orbiting Nahara deserted…except for one thing:

A massive, spider-like Pool-Ship. The markings on the side, in ancient Yeerkish identified itself as Visser Ten's flagship, the Judicator.

Surrender, Antimorphs, came his thought speech, over our communication systems, as Spike slowed the Anubis down to circle the Judicator, Your friends are gone, and if you wish to live to see tomorrow, you will yield your weapons and surrender to the Empire!

"This is Aleks Stantford, Antimorph Air Commander. You want us to surrender, Visser? Did that work in Afghanistan?"

Then you wish to duel, again? You don't have your desert crawling allies to save you this time, human.

"Suck my cock."

How primitive.

With that, I let loose a barrage of Dracon fire from the belly turret, as the Judicator let loose Tiberium-tipped missiles, seeking the heat of our Blade Ship.

"We don't have a chance against that thing," Said Sara, looking very worried. 

"Where did that big ship go?" Asked Aleks, "How did it leave so fast?" 

Skorre and I were firing Dracon beams out, cutting through the missile shields, causing them to burst into greenish flames. 

We must follow the ship, Spike said, To find David and LaRouche.

"But where the fuck did it go? I don't see a little note explaining everything, do you, Spike?" Aleks snarled.

The other human knows.

"Rico? Rico knows?" Asked Sara, confused.

Certainly. He was a Yeerkish Lord for years. He was to command that vessel. He knows perfectly well where it has gone.

I dropped out of the Dracon turret and pounced over to Rico Muerte, cowering in the far corner of the bridge, silent.

"Start talkin', you spic son of a bitch! Where in the fuck did 'ya send your blasted ship?" I growled, my claw like claws clasping his brown neck.

"Watch the racial slurs, Ripps," muttered Sara.

I ignored her, " Tell us or I gut your dog-hide and choke you with it."

"Gara…" gasped Muerte, "They went to destroy the rebels on Gara…that's where their going to test the superlaser."

Skorre jumped out of his turret, "The Judicator is launching its entire wing of Bug Fighters…if we are to make a decision, we must make it now!"

Aleks looked at Rico with contempt, and said, "We go to Gara."

Instantly, Spike jumped us into Z-Space. The last sensation we experienced before we tunnelled into that sub-dimension was the dog, Visser ten, yelling through the communication channels…

NOOOO!!!!!

DAVID

I awoke with my head feeling like a million elephants had trampled across it, leaving it a bloody, squishy mess. The last thing I remembered was Slip charging my body with Dracon energy, sending me spiralling into unconciousnes, with a very disturbing dream in which I shared my brain with a Yeerk…and there was some slutty girl with her tit poking out, and someone was calling me "Terrance"…and Dayangs and Korla and other wacky shit was happening to me…bogus.

I observed my surroundings: a tall, stadium like chamber was my location. The domed ceiling was transparent, allowing me to look at the stars, and the green-purple planet below. I knew this from my studies about the Yeerk Pool Ship orbiting Earth, so long ago, just after my cloning: It was Gara, the homeworld of the Garatron, and it was presently undergoing a very severe rebellion.

Only then did I become aware that I was strung to a giant metal post in the centre of this room. LaRouche, in the same predicament as myself, stirred beside me.

"Damn…" he moaned, "What the Hell happened?"

"Slip…knocked us out," I replied, my lips dry and cracked.

"How do you feel?" I asked, unsure I would get an answer I hadn't expected.

"I feel like the floor of a taxicab."

A booming, metallic voice spoke to us, "At long last! David Taggart, in my presence. So good to finally make your aquaintance, human." The voice belonged to the figure sitting on the black throne, dozens of meters along the room. 

A Hork-Bajir by shape, something else by physicality, it was a patchwork of flesh and machine, interwining and growing into each other, the living contrast of it both beautiful and sickening to the eye.

Both arms were mechanical claws, though various appendages moved from the wrist to cover the hand, like a Swiss Army Knife. All three horns were robotic, as was the entire of its face, save for a few inches above and below the left eye, and the mouth. The right eye glowed a sinister crimson. The tail was identical to the Hork-Bajir natural form, through it moved back and forth between the creature's legs, not clunky, as nature had intended, but quick and sure, as science had perfected. The wristblades whirred like buzzsaws. The talons on the feet, made a hideous clank on the metal floor, only a few traces of green Hork-Bajir skin around the entire chassis…This was Sauron 001, the Yeerk Emperor, in the…flesh.

"Human?" I laughed, despite the situation, "I left my humanity behind, long ago."

Sauron was striding towards us, grinning, as only a Hork-Bajir could, with its metal eyes and beak in a jovial, albeit evil, manner.

"You simply cannot grasp this situation, can you, Taggart?"

"What about it?" Grumbled LaRouche.

"I, the Emperor, Warlord this Galaxy, have captured, YOU, David Taggart. The scourge of Taxxis, the challenger of Tak Sistranus, the destructor of Sirex, the final, and greatest Beast incarnate, has been outdone, by me. And this universe, now safe from your plague, will be held firmly in my iron claws."

For a tense moment I looked deep at the Emperor.

"What the flying pig-fuck are you babbling about?" I spat.

The Emperor simply laughed, a cold, dead sound, mechanical and sinister.

"You have been shown enough times what you truly are, Taggart. You know of what I speak. And it is all true."

The things that I had been able, until now, to pass off as nightmares and hallucinations, were being preached by something all too real.

Still, no time to think about that now. More pressing business at hand.

"Yeah, well," I said, trying to play along, "I am the Beast. I am great and I am powerful. I am protected by forces greater than you and your kind, one thousand fold. Release us from our chains, or you shall learn why I am not a fan of allowing my foes an easy death!"

The Emperor laughed in my face, yet again.

"Your power is not that great. And though I do not doubt that that meddler, Puck, is assisting you, your greater master has withdrawn his investment."

"Huh?" said LaRouche, confused.

Sauron sneered, "Just because I have not taken up the aid of the dark powers, does not mean that I am ignorant of them. Where do you think I got the parts for the Demonoids? I know where they like to hide, and I have dealings with the lesser Drac-kinds, though Puck has yet to gain this soul," he patted his metallic chest, "I am well aware of the more subtle things in the designs of the Machine, how it plans to…End things, if you know what I mean. Pity it has to act through it's Dark Lord, because I'm about to do what even IT cannot."

Within a breath, The Emperor's hand was covered by a fearsome looking Dracon cannon, taking its aim to fire at my head.

"And with this, I make myself the messiah," he said triumphantly.

Then, the whole world, for a split second, went a deep blood red, and Sauron fell back, keeling in pain, screaming in his terrible metallic voice. The metal posts that we were chained to split at the middle with a great crack, letting me pull my hands over the back and free myself, just as the world returned to normal.

KABOOM! KABOOM!

The outer hull of the Eye of Akdor rumbled. We were under attack! 

"Emperor! The Antimorphs are attacking the ship!" Came a panicked voice over the intercom, but the Emperor did not respond, instead pulling himself back to his feet.

"Morph to that little Kestrick-thing, that we found a few weeks ago!"

Kestricks were from the second moon of Pentasera. Little things, about the same size as  dragonfly, with eyes like bifocals and little bat-wings. They were pests at a small Skrit Na outpost we'd landed on, and had aquired them during our stay.

"Morph!" I called out.

The Emperor was clutching his eyes, rubbing them, firing at the place where we had once been stuck to the poles, missing even that wide target.

"Blast! Where the FALCMAR are you little vermin?!"

Get to the vent, I called in thought-speech to LaRouche, who was just finishing his morph, Get into the ventilation system!

LaRouche didn't need to be told. He had scrambled into the vent up on the ceiling , just as I was jumping into a vent port on the ground.

David…go…parents… spoke the thought speech of LaRouche, breaking up over distance and through the thick hull of the ship,I'll…control…I can…on this thing…blow the planet…up.

He was going to try to take control over the ship before it could fire! If we could hijack it from the Yeerks…we could use it against them. WE would be the ones to fear, at last!

I scrambled through the vents, reading signs in the halls below, making my way to the detention block. Time to free my parents, at last.

ALEKS

"It's turning around!"  Called Skorre, looking at the giant Yeerk vessel, the huge cone on one end, shifting to face Gara below us. 

We had come out of Z-Space to find the giant Yeerk ship, (identified by Rico as the Eye of Akdor) orbiting Gara. I had ordered us to strafe the engines, but they were heavily shielded, so our Dracon blasts only pierced a few remote and unimportant sections of the hull. 

"We have to stop it from attacking the planet!" Said Sara, rushing to my side.

"Yeah, be a real shame if all those fuckin' Garatron rebels got wasted," I muttered, my sarcasm highly evident.

"They could use it on us, dude!" Ripper jumped in.

It poses a threat to the entire galaxy. It must be crushed now! Spike agreed.

Rico laughed, "You don't get it, do you?" he asked, his handsome Hispanic face bent into a sinister smile.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You CAN'T destroy it, slag-brain! Do you know how much of that ship is the power plant? That thing is mostly pure, unprocessed and highly volatile Tiberium!"

"Your point being?" Responded Skorre.

"If you even try to destroy it-which I highly doubt you can-you will, almost certainly, kill us all."

Then we board it, take control of it from the inside! Spike countered.

"Impossible! If you even managed to land in it, you'd have to fight through an army of Hork-Bajir and human controllers. You'd have all the chance of Frosty the Snowman running for Mayor of Hell!"

"Skorre, shut this bastard up," I muttered.

Skorre didn't waste any time smacking his elbow down on Rico Muerte's head. He went out like a light.

"We have to take control of the Eye of Akdor," I said, "Land in it, hijack it, rescue David and LaRouche, and put the whole thing under control."

Ripper cackled, "That's fucking SUICIDE! Are you INSANE?!?!" He laughed like a man in a mental asylum.

"It's just been activated. It's probably not fully manned yet."

"Still…us against a thousand Yeerks?" Sara said with doubt.

"Spike?" I said, ignoring her.

Yes, Air Commander?

"Ram the hanger bay doors."


	41. Part Six:Endgame

Episode Six: In Akdors Eye 

Part Six: Endgame

ALEKS

The sound of the Anubis slamming into the hanger bay doors was deafening. 

Spike lined up the ship with the doors, and punched up a medium burn. 

"What the HELL are they doing?!" Said a human voice over the radio.

"Clear Hanger 18! Clear 18! They're on a suicide run!" Said another.

"Hang on tight!" I said and we slammed through the doors, armour plating and shields chewing through each other as the shrapnel from the steel and iron flew at our Blade Ship.

We were within a massive hanger, dozens of Bug Fighters scattered along the floor, Hork-Bajir, Taxxons, humans and Gedds stumbling about, many on the ground, bleeding profusely.

We must get off the ship! Said Spike, The shock troops will be here in minutes!

"You heard him!" I said, "Battle morphs, go, go, go!"

We all morphed to Aorkian. Spike, lacking any real combat morphs, armed himself with a heavy Dracon rifle. Rico just sort of followed behind us, keeping to himself.

We trotted down the boarding ramp and into the fray, with the mission of destroying the Eye of Akdor. 

God help us all.

LaROUCHE

I slipped through the ventilation shaft and into the engine chamber with ease. It was a chamber, alright…CAVERN was more like it.

From wall to wall, as far as my morphed eyes could see, were translucent vats holding pure, green, extremely volatile Tiberium, mined from the planet of Clemiac. 

No guards…must be too big a space to guard effectively.

As I landed and demorphed, a sign on the wall caught my eye. In plain Yeerkish, it said:

DANGER! ALL PERSONELL MUST BE ADEQUETELY PROTECTED AGAINST TIBERIUM RESIDUE! SEE BLOCK COMMANDER FOR RADIATION COUNTERMEASURES!

"Blast!" I cursed.

I was in danger every moment I stood in this room. Tiberium was leaking into my veins due to cheap Yeerk craftsmanship of the engines. 

I'd have to find a way to bring this beast down…and fast.

Suddenly, a CRASH!

The ground vibrated at the sound. Whatever was going on up there, didn't affect me.

Oh well, I thought, rolling up my sleeves.

Time to get to work. I looked at the massive Tiberium cell in front of me. Tiberium was awful hot. Maybe I could cause the cells to overheat and blow up. 

I walked off to find some controls. Time to waste this ship.

RIPPER

As I bounded into the fray of Hork-Bajir soliders waiting to end my life, I felt a sharp, burning pain in my back.

I leaned back, to see Rico Muerte standing, holding a massive Dracon beam…and Spike lying down, unconscious!

As Rico raised the gun again, I realized faintly that my armoured reptilian hide was gushing blue, inky blood.

Rico fucking SHOT ME! I cried out.

Rico, sneering, raised the gun again, "When I give you all the Empire, I'll be right back in my former glory, stupid little children…" He cackled.

He fired.

The blast hit Aleks, square on, but the reptilian scales took most of the damage.

"Stupid little shit, Stantford. You were always a little insolent punk, never knew what was good for you. I can't believe I actually let you get away with all the shit you pulled, wasting my soldiers, stealing my H. What a faulty investment."

Alek's reaction was one of pure, undiluted hatred and rage.

You fucker! Screamed Aleks, You bastard! You are fucking DEAD!

Aleks leaped on Rico Muerte, and, as I saw his expression on the leader of the Rampage turn from contempt, to alarm, to fear, and then death, he was torn limb from limb by his former right hand man.

Fate fucks with us all.

Slip and Visser 11 were caught in a panic. The Antimorph ship Anubis had slammed its way inside Hangar Bay 18, the David Taggart and Marc LaRouche had escaped from the Emperors throne room, and someone was screwing around down in the engine rooms. At least the hanger bay blast doors had shut. The room wasn't a vaccum. 

"You head down to 18. I'm going to secure other matters."

"Other matters? Like what, you little bitch?" Roared Slip, "Like saving your own ass, maybe? While me and my warriors go and shred some Antimorph?"

Efflit recoiled, "I must check on the Emperor." This was a lie, of course. Efflit knew David was on his way to one place: The detention blocks that held his mother and father. And there was little that could stop him. There was a big fight in the Hangar bay, that rat LaRouche must be the one tampering with the Tiberium cores, and David on the warpath to ground zero.

He needed leverage over Taggart, and this could be his chance to wipe out that Terra Firman slime once and for all!

"You have your orders," Spat Efflit, "Set the Eye to fire. Wipe out Gara."

A Mak Lieutenant looked at Efflit, "Sir, the power cells will take twenty minutes to reach minimum power levels, and that's barely enough to break the crust…"

"I said FIRE!" Roared Efflit, his patience breaking, "Destroy those rebels! Fry their planet to a cinder! BURN THEM ALL!"

With that, Slip took a dozen Hork-Bajir and rushed off to the battle. Efflit stormed off to the Detention Block.

No turning back.

DAVID

Detention block…detention block…I had to find the detention block!

Zooming through the pipes, vents and caverns of the massive Yeerk ship, I read words on the panels. The detention block was deep, deep in the base of the ship. I was on the right course. Down, down, into the belly of the beast…

SKORRE

Two…maybe three dozen Hork-Bajir brandishing Dracon pistols had filled the hanger. I was in Aorkian morph, dodging, biting, slashing, ripping, but for every one of my people that I destroyed, came another, or two more, to fill their place.

Ripper was beside me, still fighting on, even though the Dracon blast from Rico Muerte had injured him. Rico was dead, chewed to bits by Aleks. 

The lift doors at the far end of the Hanger had opened, revealing Slip, the human monstrosity, now brandishing a metal claw for the hand that he had lost the last time we fought him.

He was accompanied by a dozen Hork-Bajir.

"KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!" He cried, and they charged.

Slip raised his metallic arm, red energy forming in a ball inside his palm.

"Die!"

He pitched the red, apparently Dracon, ball of plasma at Sara, as she chewed through a Naharan. 

What the? 

She jumped to the left, barely missing the plasma ball.

Slip, more monstrous a creature now, charged me with his gnarled, shape shifting arm, stabbing my leg.

The pain was more intense than anything I had ever felt before. 

"I fucking love this Polgara arm," Slip muttered, his red eyes fuming with rage.

Aleks bounded over, Spikes out! Go and drag him back on the ship! He ordered, I'm taking care of Brandon, here.

As he revealed what must have been Slips true name, I was headed off to rescue the Andalite Spike, even though his people were murderers. 

DAVID

I burst from the vent to see "DETENTION BLOCK" in big, red, Yeerkish in front of me.

Fuckin' A, I thought, relieved that I had found it.

I demorphed and reached into my long-neglected Z-Space closet for a Dracon beam, and pulled out a heavy Dracon pistol. 

"It's clobberin' time…" I said, determined.

"Antimorph!" a human voiced shrieked. 

I immediately set the Dracon to "disable" and spun around, firing it at the controller's legs and arms.

The controller, a middle aged man with lush brown hair, stared up at me with fear.

"Just shoot me now! Visser 11 will just make me Taxxon-fodder anyways!"

I kicked him with my boot.

"You work here?" I grunted, levelling my pistol at him.

"Ye…yeah," he said.

"I want to see the Taggart's. Right-the-fuck-now. What cell are they in?"

"He'll kill me, for the love of Telmar!"

I spat, "You can take your chances or die right now. Just tell me the bloody cell number!"

"Eleven-Ten B!"

"Thanks," I said, shooting him in the head.

I ran off to find cell number 11-10-B.

LaROUCHE

The Yeerks were actually going to use this damn thing! The power core was getting really hot, but so the cooling systems adapted. I couldn't overload this thing.

Above the control board was a giant clock, counting down in Yeerkish characters. It was at little less than eleven minutes.

I couldn't get the Tiberium to explode like this…maybe I could get the weapon to backfire!

I jumped over to the radio board, and punched up one of the Pool Ships flanking the Eye of Akdor, the Juggernaut

"Juggernaut captain, come in Juggernaut captain…"

A few moments of static, and then a voice.

"This is Admiral Pietta. To whom am I speaking?"

I quickly chose a name that was common to a good number of Yeerks. 

"This is Liuetenant…Snith. Antimorphs have massacred the captain and all officers on the bridge! They are attempting to escape from the forward hanger bay! Get in front of the ship to cut them off! Get as close to the front as you can, so they can't get the jump on you! The Emperor wants them pulverized!"

"We shall crush them, Lieutenant!"

If my plan worked, the overflow of Dracon energy from the superlaser would hit the Juggernaut, the blast carrying back here to the engine room…and blowing the Tiberium to Kingdom Come.

I morphed to Kestrick and flew into the vents. I had to find a Bug Fighter and ditch this bird!

DAVID

I found my mother and step father, freed, for the first time in over a year…almost two.

They were crunched into the small cell, 11-10-B, little more than a closet. 

I shot the lock, and caught my mother as she fell through to the ground.

"David?" She asked, looking up at me, as I caught her.

"Yeah, mom…Its me…" I said, struggling to keep back the tears.

"My little boy…all grown up…you've come to save us, haven't you? I'm not dreaming again?"

"No mom…no dream."

"Son…they told us that you were alive…that you were fighting them. Just like your old man did, just like my boy…" Said my step-father, murmuring.

"You became so handsome, Davy-Gravy," my mother touched my face, calling me what she did when I was a little kid.

"How touching," came a sneering voice. "Hate to interrupt this little family reunion, but I believe that I should be killing you, right about now."

Efflit 1318. Rachel Berenson. Visser 11.

He stood not ten feet behind me, holding two massive Dracon pistols.

The first shot hit my step father.

I didn't see him collapse.

The second round hit my mother, in her breast, as she lay in my arms. My mother…dying in my arms. Dying because of me. Because I had freed them…

She died.

The next shot came for me.

I dodged it.

Time stopped. My mind went blank. Nothing mattered anymore. Then, nothing was replaced by a new emotion. 

Rage.

I jumped at Visser 11, knocking the Dracon beams from his weak female hands.

He was trying to morph. Little brown hairs growing all out of his skin. Grizzly Bear. 

In my clone body, with clone strength, speed and brute power, I didn't need to morph. 

In just tore an arm off.

"Gaaah!" Cried Efflit.

Off came a leg.

Blood filled the ground around us. The blood of Rachel Berenson, and my mother and step father.

Off came the other arm.

Efflit was screaming. I didn't care. He didn't have to listen to the things inside me screaming. I didn't listen. The world was quiet now.

A small grey slug crawled out of Rachel's ear. Efflit, as a pure Yeerk.

"So small a thing," I found myself saying, "Caused so much death…"

I took my hand and grabbed it, squeezing it to a pulp as its guts covered my fist. Little more than snubbing out a cigarette.

Time sped up. I could hear the world again.

Rachel, free for the first time in months, was trying to morph, to repair the injuries.

"David…" she gasped, "Help me…"

"Look what you've done…you little bitch…"I wailed.

"I was a slave! I didn't do anything! Don't take your anger out on me!"

Lost on her was the fact that I had murdered her sister Jordan and her mother, so many months ago.

"No, bitch," I shouted, "YOU didn't do ANYTHING! NO ONE DID! You have no clue of the pain I feel! EVERYONE MUST SUFFER AS I HAVE, because EVERYONE I LOVED HAS DIED!"

"David…"Rachel said firmly, "Don't do it. Don't cross that line."

Rage filled me, took control of my body. In that moment, I was not a man, but a Demon.

"There…is…no…LINE!"

I raised my fist and, in one swift motion, crushed her skull in. 

She was dead.

And I sat in her blood.

SARA

The battle in the hanger raged.

Dead Hork-Bajir were lying all over the place, the bodies piling up. Slip and his elite guard of a dozen were all that fought with us, but in our weakened and bloody condition, with no where to demorph, we were no match to them.

All of a sudden, a vent on the ceiling burst open, and a small creature…a Kestrick…came zipping out.

We have to get out of here! This thing is about to blow up!

It was LaRouche!

What the Hell? Asked Aleks, What the Hell is going on? What did you do?!

"This ship is going to fire its huge planet-wasting gun…and theres a Pool Ship parked right in front of it…" He said, demorphing.

So? I asked, perplexed.

"So…this whole thing is going to blow sky-high!"

LaRouche, you dolt! Muerte told us the explosion would be HUGE! How the Hell are we supposed to get away from the blast in time?!

"Oh…shit…that's bad…"

Get back in the Anubis! Now! We have to get in the clear! Aleks called out to Skorre, fighting a Hork-Bajir.

We covered Skorre as we made our retreat to the Anubis. 

I pulled up the landing ramp, and Skorre jumped into one of the turrets, blasting the Hanger clear of Hork-Bajir.

LaRouche took us out, busting through the hanger doors again.

"Wait a second…" I realized, "What about David?"

Slip stood, less a few chunks of flesh, in Hanger bay 18, covered from the Anubis's Dracon fire behind a Bug Fighter. 

The Eye was going to blow up, was it? Best not to stick around for that.

There were a lot of good opportunities in the galaxy for a man like him. Bounty Hunter, mercenary, advisor, warlord, Silmarillion smuggler, pirate.

He could make it good. Damned if he was going to stick around and go up in smoke with the Empire.

Slip hopped in the Bug Fighter, went over the checks, and took off, flying into Z-Space.

DAVID

I pulled myself out of the pool of blood and carnage. My black uniform was stained a deep, dark red with Rachel's blood. I couldn't even bare to look upon my parents corpses.

I heard a voice over the intercom: "Minus four minutes to superlaser firing…"

I'd better get out of here. 

I saw a sign. It told me that Hanger bay 29 was nearby. Good news, I guess.

I wasn't very enthusiastic. I just wanted to lay down and die. No one had ever felt the hurt and pain that I had experienced….every last bit of my life was gone. My friends…my girlfriend…my parents…my planet…Sanders… everything was gone. What was there left to live for.

No…there was always purpose. And I had a sneaking suspicion at what mine was.

I moved, running swiftly through the underbelly of the Eye of Akdor. Tunnel through tunnel through corridor and room. It was all deserted.

Finally, I had come upon Hanger bay 29. 

" I knew you would come here, Taggart," said the cold, mechanical voice of the Emperor.

I turned and saw his cyborg form, standing to my right side. 

"I knew that you would go for your parents, and then try to escape here, although I couldn't have dreamed that it would ever have turned out so…" he said with a smile, "Delicious."

"Get out of my way, you old fool."

"Ooh," the Emperor said sarcastically, "What are you going to do to me? Squish me to a pulp, like you did Visser 11, or tear me apart, like you did to her helpless, injured, pitiful host?"

I charged, punching him in his metallic torso. I was so enraged that I didn't even feel my hand bleeding.

"I can't let you leave, Taggart. Not with what you are capable of."

"And what is that?!" I shouted, "WHAT AM I?! WHAT IS INSIDE ME?"

Quiet, for a moment.

"I don't know for sure what you have inside you, David Taggart," he began, "All I know is that it was powerful enough to storm its way across the cosmos and tear a hole into this world, and allow you to defy all odds, to die and come back, to kill and kill until I defies all logic. And I know what your goal is. I know that you have set events in motion mere moments ago, and try as your might, those events can never be stopped. You, Taggart, are an army. You just declared war. Now, fight it!"

He raised his gun-arm to fire.

The one thing I wanted at that moment was just for him to go away. I wanted him, in my rage and blind anger, wanted him out of the way. 

Suddenly, in an instant, time stood still. The world turned pitch red. 

The Emperor, Sauron 001, fell back, clutching his head and writhing in pain. Red lightening glanced all about him.

He finally stopped. Unconscious, maybe dead. I didn't really care.

I don't know if I caused the Yeerk Emperor to fall back, dead. I don't know if, in my moment of hatred, I had simply willed him to die. 

I don know that it never happened again.

Tired, I hopped in a Bug Fighter, and took off into space.

LaROUCHE

A small ship came flying outside of the lower end of the ship. A Bug Fighter. 

"Don't shoot!" I said to Aleks, already warming up the gun systems, "They aren't attacking! They wouldn't just send one little Bug Fighter. Its David."

Just then, the conical end of the Eye of Akdor opened fire, the Juggernaut was caught in the path of the thick, rose-coloured superlaser. 

The beam never hit the planet. It collided the Pool Ship, less than a kilometre away from the laser. In a flash of blinding light, the superlaser blast recoiled on itself, snaking back into the engine room deep within the Eye of Akdor. 

The craft exploded in a flash of brilliant green light.

As David's Bug Fighter rejoined us, I was relieved that the explosion wasn't nearly as bad as we had expected. The planet of Gara would be pelted with the remains of the Eye and the Juggernaut, as well as several other support ships, for weeks to come.

We had done good. The Empire had been dealt yet another harsh blow.

David docked with the Anubis. He didn't speak at all, just going straight to bed.

I never found out what happened to David. I doubt I want to know.

David said only one thing, that chilled me right to the very core of my bones.

"Everyone shall suffer."


	42. Episode Seven:Until The End Of Time Part...

Episode Seven: Until The End Of Time 

Part One: The Beginning Of The End

January 3rd, 2001, Marlock Nebula…

LaRouche

Christmas and the new year came and went. None of us were in any mood to celebrate. David had cleared his shady attitude up a bit, but was still reclusive, brooding and tempered. Whatever had happened to him onboard the Eye of Akdor had affected him deeply. The few times I saw him outside of his quarters, his eyes were a violent crimson, so perhaps he had been crying alone.

Spike left us in the week before Christmas. The place on the head where Rico Muerte had hit him had blossomed into a concussion and we had to look after him for a while. 

We dropped Spike off at a Skrit Na trading post in the Delmar system. He claimed to be on the way to visit a local doctor who could help him out with his tail. I didn't really see how, but he was very enthusiastic about it. Seems that Spike thinks he failed David, letting Rico knock him out like that and thus not being able to take part in that fierce battle in Hanger 18. Whatever the case, it was sad to see him go. He still held unnerving respect to David, and pledge to "take up the sword for the cause, If I must."

Cryptic. 

On the third day of the new year, I awoke to Skorre's deep voice coming over the Anubis's intercom. 

"Everyone to the bridge, David has called a meeting."

I pulled myself out of my bunk, pulled on my black pants and a white T-Shirt, and walked to the bridge.

I was the last to arrive. Everyone else was sitting in various places around the room, so I pulled myself up onto a table.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"David has a plan for the dogs…a way to win this war once and for all," Ripper said through his sharpened teeth.

"Oh? A plan? Really? Because every plan we've tried thus far has gotten us into huge battles and fights. The Emperor is DEAD, what more do we need to do to the Empire?" I said in response.

"The Empire is regrouping, and they are far from dead. Melkor 2120 has assumed control of the Empire on Mordoria," David said without emotion.

"Never heard of him," Aleks muttered.

"You wouldn't have. He was sent off in the mid '70s to conquer a race in Wild Space, called the Hockner. Apparentely, he and his task force succeeded, and he set himself up as the dictator of the Hockner system. He only returned last week, when he heard Sauron was dead."

"What was his rank?"

"Warlord of the Second Expeditionary Force. He was in power above any Visser. He answered only to the Council of Thirteen."

Aleks said, "He just show's up after more than twenty years, and they automatically give him total control of the entire Empire?"

"Not quite. He murdered Visser One when she questioned his authority. Melkor's been on a purge of anyone who's stood out of line, Vissers and Su-Visser's, Yeerk-Lords, anyone who fucks with him is getting a Dracon to the head."

Silence.

"So what is your plan?" Skorre asked.

"I have been in contact with an Anicatron scientist from Galafurn, Ceri Bumeros Gaufaustus. He is a leading member of the galactic scientific community. Unfortunetely, there has been a Yeerk presence on Galafurn for some time. Over two tenths of the race is under control, and the invasion is open, but not active at this time."

"Why?" Sara asked.

"The Andalites are more important. They've hit the homeworld and they have taken over three hundred thousand of the population. In all doubt, they will lose this war in a few months."

David took a breath, and continued, "Ceri has a device that we can use to put the muscle to the very core of the Empire itself. We can use it to ransom Earth, or any other planet. While we have this device, no army or navy in the universe can stand against us!"

Silence. Ripper said, "Just what is this device, boss?"

David smiled, a very rare thing these days, "You'll have to wait a while."

"How long?" Inquired Aleks.

"Not long. LaRouche, set our course for Galafurn!"

I nodded. Whatever David had cooking was bound to land us in even more trouble than we were already in. Working for David Taggart was now more like working for Saddam Huessein, or any other madman. 

I dared not speak of my concerns in front of the others. Instead, I did as I was told and punched up the Z-Space co-ordinates for Galafurn. The darkness of space went a brilliant white, and we were off to see the doctor.

The doctor of death.

ALEKS

Galafurn was a six mooned planet set in the Hoose System. Covered in lush green jungles and sprawling blue/white oceans, it was a place of pure, unfiltered beauty. 

We had been in orbit for a day until the Anicatron doctor, Ceri Bumeros Gafaustus, contacted us, with orders to land on a small island off of the southernmost continent, where his laboratory was located. 

Within the hour we had landed. The island home of Ceri was a forboding place, the beaches covered in short, stubby boulders, dotted with several structures that looked like ancient pillboxes and guard towers. The interior of the island was a giant bog, where the laboratory was located.

Even though we were landed, we didn't set foot on the Galafurnian soil. Ceri had 'insisted' to David that he come out and guide us into his hideout.

That was all well and good with me. David had become more broody then ol' Hounder, before I wasted him over a couple syringes of Heroin. I doubted this little side-trip would amount to much more than a few dead Yeerks.

David was nuts, all right. Keeping to himself, snapping like an animal whenever you crossed his bad side, his eyes flaming with some violent and cruel emotion. He hadn't even told us what the Hell had happened on board the Eye of Akdor, so why the fuck did he even have an excuse to be shitting on us all?

Even Skorre, his usual number-one fan, had been silent on the subject. 

I used this extra break to my advantage. I crept down to the engine room and sat in front of the pillar that held the stone, wires hooked all around it, feeding our ship with it's inner power.

I had seen things in it before. The past-MY past, in fact. Things going on right then, old friends, long dead. People who got out and shifted their shape, sometimes being all cool and happy, then turning violent and abusive. 

It taught me. It taught me that there was a Machine and a Power, and that the Power was useless without the Machine. It wanted me to take it, claim it, make it my own, and all the privileges and joys that would come with it. But not just yet. It wasn't time for my ultimate glory just yet…but soon…

Ever since we had killed Honest Gjonn, a seedy old Na mechanic on Concord Dawn, it had been with us. Ever since we had taken it, things had gotten really interesting, starting with driving metal through the wrists of Tak Sistranus and crucifying him on Styx, a grim warning for all Bounty Hunters. 

Then, taking the Sehkmet, destroying Taxxis. It showed me my old friends, Slip, Coil, and Roach, being brought back. It showed me everything.

I knew everything. It told me that David had fucked up on the Bug-planet, and wasted his big chance. Told me I would have to help him because the Dark Lord wanted us all dead. 

Very confusing, not something too simple to understand.

It showed me, what would finally happen to me, when I made it my own.

I would Ascend, and become a God.

The time to take it was soon. Very soon. Not more than a few weeks and it would all be over. The ultimate destiny of this universe was at hand, and we were about to bring it about. Perhaps this visit to Galafurn would be fruitful, after all!

Most of all, it whispered into my mind that David must not know any of this at all. No, it was too dangerous for him to know right now, he was in conflict, turning into the man that he was meant to be. 

One more thing…If I were to ever meet anyone who called himself "Hunting," I was to kill him. Not to let him come near David. Hunting would be dangerous to David AND the Stone, and that would not be a good thing at all, even though I deserved to be the leader.

But that couldn't happen, not a good chance, at least. Not unless some very big mistakes were made. 

So I didn't make any shit of it. I looked into the beautiful, infernal crimson, completely prepared for the future. 

As I peered into it, it said in a low, growling voice,

"I shall set you high in my councils, Mercenary, and I shall set you to BURN!"

If this Hunting showed his face here, there would be no good will towards him. 

Hearing David over the intercom, I stood up and stalked upstairs. Ceri Bumeros Gafaustus had arrived and was ready to take us to his hideout. 

Soon…

AUTHORS NOTE:

Sorry if that seemed a bit tedious. Episode seven will be the last, and the shortest. It will be finished on Christmas Eve, 2002, to tide you all over till the morning. It will be five or six parts long. Look for part two to be up tomorrow evening, and possibly part three as well.

-Colin


	43. Part Two: Anyone For Doomsday?

Episode Seven: Until The End Of Time 

Part Two: Anyone For Doomsday?

DAVID

I had heard of Ceri Bumeros Gafaustus before, on Styx. Tak Sistranus, the traitorous, wicked Bounty Hunter who had tried to kill us all, had told me that he had sponsored something called the Bounty Hunter Guild Wars, pitting the most merciless Hunters and mercenaries of the galaxy against each other. A wealthy scientist and businessman, he was considered a genius by many, and a madman to others. 

When I came out of my stupor after the final battle with the Yeerks, I knew I needed to destroy them once and for all. After all, everyone must get what they deserved, and the Empire deserved nothing less than total destruction.

I put out a call to Gafaustus, signalling a want and need for him to lend his services to our cause. Ceri then told me of his marvellous device, a machine that could, and would, destroy anything we used it on. Entire armies would crumble, Empires would falter, we would have the galaxy at our fingertips. 

Then again…why stop there? Everyone should suffer as I have been made to…my life, all traces of a hope for a normal existence…are now gone, replaced with an eternity of bloody guerrilla warfare, terrorism and piracy. 

No…first things first, meet with Ceri, get my device, plot where to go from there.

And it was just the time to do so. A short communication from the Anicatron and I called my troops up to the bridge. Ceri was waiting outside.  
  


Within ten minutes, we had assembled, and LaRouche opened the gangplank, allowing us to set foot on the warm Galafurn soil.

The creature that awaited us there was a strange sight indeed. Green skinned, it hovered a few feet above the ground, suspended from six gossamer wings. It had two arms, but each arm split itself at the elbow, giving it two more half-arms, each ending in a hand like a humans. Upon it's torso was a six-eyed head, a human-like mouth, and accented with two antennae. From the back of it's head waved six tendrils. Finally, a sixth tendril snaked from it's waist, breaking into three small spaghetti-like tendrils, studded in spikes.

An Anicatron. Dr. Ceri Bumeros Gafaustus.

Greetings, David Taggart. I hope your flight went well? It asked in thought speech.

"As well as can be expected. How are things, Doctor?"

Bah! The blasted Yeerks have set up a garrison several parsecs from here, and the primitive tribesman on the shore have been engaged in petty raiding, so all I hear at all hours of the night are Dracon flashes. Still, they leave me alone, for now. I worry that Doctor Kryston has betrayed my good nature.

"That sucks," I said, not really giving two shits about this aliens personal problems, "Could you take us to your base now? My men are anxious to see the device."

Of course.

Ceri led us through the desolate and water-logged bog, into a small, metal bunker situated in the exact centre of the island. It was his laboratory, underneath, situated in a vast warren of warehouses and tunnels, a relic of a war millennia past.

I'd play along with this eccentric old Anicatron for now, as he was needed for my plans. 

For soon, my ultimate hour would be at hand, and this Doctor was going to bring me to it.

SKORRE

As we arrived in the central laboratory of Ceri's complex, our initial curiosity at this side-trip had blossomed into a full fledged, infectious, need to know.

Gazing around at the various computers and lab equipment, I wondered with a deep fascination at what David and Ceri were going to show us.

Observe, if you will, this primitive tribe-child from the mainland, Ceri motioned to a large plexiglass-like wall, showing a large white room on the other side, a small Anicatron sitting on the ground, playing with it's tendrils, A slave, an old colleague of mine used him to help pay off his gambling debt.

Ceri continued, looking at the young Anicatron, He will be the test subject for today, in my most recent-and potent-demonstration of my Time Displacement Technology.

"What? You mean that you can shift time?" Asked Sara.

That is correct. Time is just another dimension-the fourth, to be precise. Like anything around us, it can be manipulated. My technology uses Z-Space to move, manipulate, or delete, objects from the fabric of the universe.

He spoke on, The Time Displacement Technology emitters have been rigged about the entire room. In the flick of a button, everything outside the Time Displacement Field will be…removed.

None of us spoke as Ceri pressed a large red button on the wall. 

There was a slight popping sound, and a short, green flash.

And the small Anicatron that had been inside the cell…was gone!

"Where did it go?!" LaRouche said, not believing what he had just seen.

It has been erased from existence. It is gone, beyond recovery.

Ripper managed an audible "Woah…" 

Aleks's eyes went wide, probably imagining the things such a device could bring us.

I was appalled. Superweapons were not meant for mortals, surely anyone could see that? The Bug biological weapons, nuclear devices, Quantom virus's, the Eye of Akdor… such things, to me, were hideously barbaric and vile, exactly what made the galaxy a war-torn Hell hole. 

But David's eyes were flaming with excitement.

"Build us a Time Displacement bomb!" He said, staring vividly at the empty cage.

It is well within my ability… Said Ceri, seeing an opportunity, To build you a Time Displacement weapon…with a degree of power that you could set yourself, to destroy a city…a planet…a system… he said, enticingly.

David looked happy. The possibilities were endless!

"How much?"

Hmm….how many do you need?

"One to show the Yeerks what we can do…and one to use as a bargaining chip."

Let's see…for two such bombs, I'd say It'd cost you…three million galactic credits…each. But since the Yeerks are here, on my planet, posing a threat to my research and my facilities, I'm going to say…a million, total.

"Done," David said, quickly. We had plundered some ten million credits from various sources, such as Imperial garrisons on the various planets we stopped on, shops and bars, and of course, the mighty load on the Sehkmet, over six hundred thousand credits.

"When can they be ready?" Asked Aleks.

Hmmm… give me two weeks. That's about enough time.

"We'll keep a watch on your island, make sure no Yeerks fuck with you…and us."

Thank you. It is much appreciated.

We settled in on the island, moving some of our supplies to Ceri's base, setting up drone-controlled Dracon guns in the ancient pillboxes.

Did the Yeerks even know we were here? I doubted it. David always knew best, even though I didn't always agree with his actions.

I just hoped he knew what he was doing, this time.

RIPPER

JANUARY 20th, 2001…

David set us up on the island easily enough. We all took a few of the native life-forms DNA. I took a handsome, heavily bladed creature called a Scythe-Gak. LaRouche and Sara opted for plain old Vercon morphs. They had poisonous stingers, like big Bee's. Skorre took on a big, white gorilla-like morph called a Gorbash. It made him very intimidating, not that any oversized ape would be a match for me!

David set LaRouche and Sara up on patrol, combing the air above the jungles and grasslands of Galafurn as flying, versatile, Goblanic.

Besides a few Bug Fighters, we didn't see much. Once, Sara came back and claimed to have seen an Earth-Hawk, but it was just a fleeting image.

Little manipulative bitch. Kept trying to be friendly with me, and I didn't mind her, mostly because she kept her mouth shut and was a good listener when I wanted to talk, but she was of dog-blood all the same. 

And she should be treated as such.

We also got word of the Empire's status, via the YNN. About two weeks ago, Nodnarb 395, Visser Ten, had been promoted. The dog/Yeerk/Andalite was now Visser Seven.

Good for him.

Finally, on the twentieth day of January, Ceri and David came out of the enclosed laboratory. The bombs were finally finished.

Time to shred some dog meat. David immediately gave the order, and LaRouche took us up into space.

LaROUCHE

I was pretty uneasy, all things considering. David had ordered me to go into orbit of the Yeerk-occupied planet of Taloraan. They mined it for it's gas's, used to power Dracon beams and other weapons. 

It was a two day Z-Space flight to the Taloraan system. I killed time, mostly by reading.

Ceri had come with us, the specialist on how to operate the bomb.

We were to give the Empire a few minutes warning, then destroy the system. Then we were to begin bargaining for Earth. Something just didn't seem right about this plot…David was babbling about how he would end it once and for all, deluded rants that he was "just doing his job."

Maybe he was. Sara seemed to share me suspicions, as did Skorre, who, for the first time, seemed to be questioning his involvement with us. 

Whatever was about to happen was going to be big. One way or the other, we would win. If the Yeerks caved in, we would hold the entire Empire in the palm of our hands. If they resisted, their homeworld would be…removed from existence.

The two days passed relatively quickly. On the 22nd, I pulled us out of Z-Space over the pale, gaseous planet of Taloraan.

It's showtime.

AUTHORS NOTES: Look for the next chapter(s) up tomorrow!


	44. Part Three: The End Of Everything

Episode Seven: Until The End Of Time 

Part Three: The End Of Everything

JANUARY 20th, 2001, ANTIMORPH FLAGSHIP ANUBIS, IN ORBIT OF YEERK-OCCUPIED PLANET, TALORAAN…

DAVID

In an instant, as LaRouche pulled us out of Z-Space, the Yeerks knew we had arrived. 

The video screen in the front of the bridge lit up with a scowling Hork-Bajir face.

"David Taggart! I am Kulak 281, of the Khaz-Modhan Pool, on Bajir. In the name of our Emperor, Melkor 2120 of the Sammath-Nuir Pool of Mordoria, I demand that you surrender unconditionally to the Pool Ship Destructor, immediately!"

"In your dreams, Yeerk. I want to speak to your new Emperor, at once!" I said in my most commanding voice.

Kulak 281 laughed villainously, "Our great and mighty Emperor would not give you the honour of minding his fecal matter, so why would he allow you to address him directly?"

I smiled in a most sinister matter, "Be my guest, you can do exactly as Sauron 001 did, and ignore us when we wish to speak with him, and wait for our new weapon to wreak havoc on your planet. You don't want another Taxxis on you hands, do you, Yeerk?"

The Controller considered this carefully.

"You shall be allowed to communicate with the Emperor over these channels."

The screen went black, and was immediately replaced with a demonic visage.

The creature on the screen had a sickening yellow skin, scaly and glittering, with numerous crimson stripes alongside his head and body, like an alien tiger. It's head, human-like in shape, boasted a black tuft of hair, in braids, flowing onto the floor. The creature itself was humanoid, with violent red eyes and a sharp nose. From it's mouth grew dozens of sharp, jagged teeth. It's ears were elfin, pointed and thin, while it's arms where dotted with bulging muscles and ended in imposing, feral claws. It's legs were strong, and a tail, thinner than a Hork-Bajir's but thicker than an Andalites, ended in a deadly barb.

I could easily guess at what this creature was: A Hockner, a race forgotten by the Yeerks and Andalites alike, subjugated more than two decades ago and ruled in secrecy by the Yeerk in front of me, Melkor 2120.

"You," Melkor said in a sharp and deep voice, "are the human who has caused my Empire so much grief."

"You were expecting maybe the Easter Bunny?" I asked, sarcastically.

"Do not attempt to make fun, human, for I am Melkor 2120, the Emperor of this galaxy!"

"Wow, you sure have a high opinion of yourself," muttered Aleks, to my left side.

"You have made a request to speak with me! Do you wish to plead for your lives? Beg for mercy? You shall find none of that with me!"

"Shut the FUCK up," I said, strongly, to an outraged Hockner-Controller.

"You would speak like that to me?! I shall have you obliterated! You will be turned into slime! Your host-family's will be fed to Taxxons, alive! You will…" 

I cut him off, "I am not here to beg or plead. It's you who should be doing that."

Melkor looked both shocked and offended, "And why is that?"

"I have a device of unimaginable destructive power, which I shall now demonstrate on this planet," I motioned out the window, pointing to Taloraan, below, "Take this…demonstration…to heart, for it is but a mere splinter of my total power."

I spoke to Ceri, "Launch the bomb. Set it's destructive radius to encompass the planet, but leave all ships in orbit out of range."

Yes…just making the last calculations…and now I'm imputing them into the hard drive…yes…It's done!

"Set it loose!"

Ceri punched a few things into his keypad, and from out the window, we saw a silver cube, five feet in diameter, falling out of the belly of the Anubis, to the planet below.

Falling…

Falling…

Falling…

A flash of light! I covered my eyes from the brightness, as did my crew.

I heard a loud pop!

I removed my fingers from my eyelids…Taloraan was gone, and it was replaced by an empty void.

"Captain!" Came the voice of Kulak 281, "The planet is…gone! It's not on visual or thermal scans…not on infrared or anything at all!"

"It's gone because I destroyed it!" I shouted, "You fools, I have used a new weapon, of power unimaginable to you!"

Kulak continued, "We're picking up some faint…very faint…radio transmissions."

Melkor roared, "Play them!"

The transmissions, being on our communications channel, were audible to us. 

In the faintest, faintest English, I heard:

"…everywhere! Can't see…'thing but fire! It's all shadow and…'ire…contact with all support craft…," Static interrupted the line of speech, "Good God! What the HELL is that? What the HELL IS THAT!?!? No, please, NOOO! Save us! Save us all!"

The transmission went dead.

After a few seconds of silence, Ripper spoke, "Holy shit…what the fuck was that?"

Sara's eyes broke into tears, "Oh Jesus…what did we do? What did we do to them?"

Ceri offered a solution, Perhaps we sent them to another reality…a parallel dimension, so to speak. It would seem likely, but none of the probes I ever sent through reported anything of the sort.

Melkor was at a loss for words.

"What the blaze did you do, Taggart?"

"I destroyed it, just as I will destroy the homeworld of Mordoria, or maybe Bajir…or Nahara…or Pentasera…or any other world you occupy. I could easily wipe out the entire Moria system…or more. I have many of these bombs," I lied. I had only one more.

"What do you want from us, Taggart?" The Emperor asked.

"You shall immediately remove all troops and personnel from the planet Terra Firma, leaving any and all Yeerk or Andalite technology behind for the use of the indigenous population. Every and all human being under your control will be freed of Yeerk infestation and will be given safe transport to Terra Firma. For three systems on all sides of the Sol system, there will be a de-militarized zone, in which no Imperial craft will enter. If these demands are met, your Empire will be spared. Refuse, and I shall obliterate you all."

LaROUCHE

"We shall…consider…these demands, Taggart. You will soon hear from us…" Said Melkor, dazed and shocked, seemingly in a trance.

"You have a day to make your decision."

David cut off the communication, and turned to face me at the helm.

"LaRouche, take us into Z-Space, set the course for the Moria system."

I punched in the course, Z-Space turning the view in the window to brilliant whiteness.

I was shocked…David had destroyed an entire planet. I was even more sickened than when we had devastated all of Taxxis with human nuclear weaponry.

Judging from that radio transmission, David had indeed sent those poor troops and miners on Taloraan to another dimension, and a damn unpleasant one, at that.

Christ…he had sent them to Hell, itself…

"David," I said, staring into Z-Space, "Do you really expect them to comply?"

David let loose a loud, maniacal laugh. "No, LaRouche. I expect them to die. Even if they give in to all my demands, I'm still going to erase their home system from the very fabric of the universe…they have ruined us all..spat on our souls…destroyed our lives. They must PAY for it! They must be DESTROYED! They must answer for every crime, every atrocity, every grievance, ever last God-damned MURDER must be atoned for! Everyone will get what they DESERVE!" David ranted, lost in his own mind.

I turned and faced him. His eyes were blazing red with fury, swear dripping from his brow, his face cloaked in shadow.

"I will crush and destroy and mutilate and torture all who call themselves Yeerks…"

I started walking towards him, my mind clouded in turmoil…David had finally lost it, and now he was going to murder TRILLIONS of Yeerks, even if they complied with his demands.

Sweet God…David was mad!

"I will pulverize and annihilate their Empire for its wrongs!"

"Yeah! Way to KILL those DOGS!" Snarled Ripper, jumping up and down.

I was near David now, his arms raised in the air, motioning wildly, completely lost in his own rage.

My hand coiled into a fist…

"I will visit the judgement of every GOD and every DEMON upon them, for MY name is a HOLY name! I am LEGION! The BEAST! I come to bring my FURY upon all, and I bring HELL with me! I bring HELL with me!!!!!"

I swung at David, my fist connecting directly with his face.

David went down.

Silence. Grim, unbreakable silence, terrible as all Hell itself.

David looked up, snarling, "After all I've done for you, Marc LaRouche, your just going to betray me like this?!"

I looked at him, determined, "David, I've taken a vow to defend this sorry universe, and that means doing this that others cannot. If I am the last thing that stands between you, and mass genocide, then I will stand in the face of all you would bring."

David was on his feet now, his clone's muscles gleaming, "You want to take a fuck at me?" He snarled to my face.

"Let's do it."

I leaped, he dove!

Our bodies connected in the air, fists and legs flailing wildly at each other, trying to do some damage.

"It is TIME!" Aleks cried out, dashing down the hallway and down the stairs that let to the Engine room.

Ripper called, "KILL the DOG, Dave! RIP him to SHREDS!"

His jeering was interrupted by Skorre's fist knocking him cold against the wall.

I punched David in the neck, but his clone was too strong. I was thrown back against the helm, my back flaring up in red-hot pain.

Suddenly, there was a loud, piercing shriek. Aleks!

"AAAAHHHRRRRRRRRGGGG!!!!!"

"Aleks!" Cried Sara, sitting helpless in the corner.

"MY HAND! OH, GOD! MY HAND IS ON FUCKING FIRE!!!"

David! Said Ceri, exasperated, Everything in the lower hold is getting hot! There has been an explosion in the missile bay!

"Stabalize it!" Shouted David, punching me in the face.

I cannot! The second bomb is unstable! It's readings are off the chart! It's potentcy has skyrocketed!

I shot my elbow into David's face, Skorre kicking Ceri against the consol.

"Fix it!" Skorre shouted, "Do not let that bomb go off!"

I can't! It's beyond my control!

"Fix it!" I shouted.

Then…

Time stopped.

For a fleeting instant, all was perfect…serene…the universe and all it contained was in harmony.

Then…I saw every molecule of the universe, all states of matter and being, ripped apart, torn into miniature, swirling vortex's of fire and shadow…

Not just us…everything…

The last expression on David's face was one of delight.

I head a sadistic chuckle, "Heh, heh…finally, the one that counts, gets the job done."

Before I blacked out, I saw a single, burning, red stone, floating in a void of nothingness. It hung there…time had stopped!

Time had stopped…but it had ended all the same.

AUTHORS NOTE: Two chapters left! Look for them to be both up on Christmas Eve! One in the daytime, the other at night!


	45. Part Four: The Becoming, Part Three

Episode Seven: Until The End Of Time Part Four: The Becoming, Part Three 

DAVID

Time stopped, and pulled itself apart.

Was this really my doing? Was I the root cause of this orgy of violent and terrible destruction?

None of that mattered now. The end had come and gone, leaving but one object floating in a black void: a red, fist-sized Stone, the one we used to power the Anubis.

Sander's voice echoed through my mind, "After much deliberation, it took almost all of its power and poured it into a simple red stone, and named it…Ragnarok…"

So…the red stone was really the Stone of the Dark Lord? Cut from his hand by Crayak and lost among the universes? 

And I…I was the Beast…the destroyer of worlds and civilizations…the bastard son of a half-demon and a long dead sorceress…

"Fuckin' A!" Said a sneering, sarcastic voice, "It's my favourite cleaner! I'm really proud of you, kid, you kicked the shit out of this universe!"

I turned around, not sure how I was even still alive, "Puck."

The Satyr-like creature smiled, and looked upon me with a sinister glare, "My ass was on the line, big time. You were my last chance to stay alive, and you really came through. I couldn't be more happy. I don't think I've been this delighted since Duriel began the Crusades."

"What the Hell just happened?" I asked, confused.

"You did your job! Fulfilled destiny! Completed the cycle! Whatever you want to call it, you did an amazing job of it, although it was a few months behind schedual."

"What are you talking about?"

Puck laughed, "Oh, come on! I'd have thought that you'd have figured it out, by now!"

I stammered, "What…?"

"That little stint in Paradise? When my Master's Shrike killed you? When your dead buddy told you every little thing you needed to know, and that meddling fool, Whistler, explained it so plainly that any child could make sense of it?" Puck sneered, "You were too damn powerful when you came out...gave even the most powerful High Demon's trouble. You destroyed dimension after dimension, in your first hours of being."

"I don't understand…"

Puck continued, "You wouldn't! You wiped out millions of lives! The chaos and mayhem you spawned in your wake was brilliant, at least, until you proved impossible to sedate or control."

He looked upon me with a sinister gaze, "You went after Gharanz-Tyre, the Tower of Doom, itself! You Azorath, the most powerful High Demon, and flung him off the plateau of Targoroth! Our realm of Tartarus was in total anarchy! And it was all my fault! So, I thought to myself, why not split him up? Dilute each particle of his being, and give it to a human youth, since they are so damn susceptible to my puppetry."

I was blown away, totally confused, "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you aren't human, David James Taggart! You may have a human form, a human mind, but your soul is Demon! And a very powerful and potent Demon, at that. Yes…it lay dormant inside your psyche until you met he Animorphs on Terra Firma…it grew as you were exiled as a Nothilt, as a rat. It was unleashed when you were cloned by Sirex 4891, and  grew more and more powerful with each of your attacks and losses."

Puck went on, "When Sanders was slain by Aleks, the Mercenary…"

"Wait! No…Jake murdered Sanders! In the mall! Aleks tried to help him!"

Puck sneered, "Sorry, kid. Aleks killed him. Want to see?"

An image of Sanders, in his Anaconda morph, lying on the ground, out of sight of the main battle, in the mall. He was gravely injured, and fluttering in between life and death.

Aleks, in morph as a Jaguar, bounded towards him.

Aleks…thank God,He moaned, Please…please help me…

No, Sanders. I will not help you. Pray that God has mercy, but I won't.

Aleks took a swipe at Sanders head, and killed him in one stroke of his claws.

"NOOO!"

"Yeah, I kind of expected that reaction. Let's watch it again, from different angles, shall we?"

The scene of Sander's murder played over and over again.

"Hey, you can actually SEE the bone shattering when he brings his claw down…now, THAT is cool."

A small circle, like the kind that appears in instant replays at NFL games, encircled a section of the Anaconda's neck.

"STOP!" I shouted, "Stop it!"

"Alright," Puck said, "Just so we understand each other."

I was outraged at this…my right hand man had murdered my protégé…one of the only human beings that I had ever cared for…dead.

The Half-Demon smiled, "You were supposed to use the Bugs, in the beginning, to destroy the Empire. In the wackiness that was supposed to follow, the universe would go up in smoke. But, you blundered there, so I had to get personally involved. Hell, this bomb of yours only worked because it went off in Z-Space! It tore the fabric of that sub-dimension apart, so the main dimension crumbled at the seems!"

"Davie Boy, I'm going to give you a little treat. I'm going to show you what some of the other-you's have accomplished, some of the finest, the cream of the crop, to speak. I think you might enjoy this…"

Puck flicked his wrist, and we were gone.

……………………………………………….

The transition didn't happen like I expected, a flash of light, a cheesy sound effect, the surroundings just suddenly changed to a big, sparse room, at a huge table in it's centre sat a single guy with the same face I saw in the mirror every day.

"There's a handsome fella." I said to Puck.

"Takes after his old man." Puck slyly retorted, "Observe, if you will, David Moonbeam, leader of the Moon Beam Posse and another failed angel of death, he just wasn't fit to live up to his real potential."

Moonbeam looked impatient, like he had some place to be and was waiting for his ride to get here, Puck filled me on more information, it was the year 1981 but humans had advanced quicker, mankind had settled on the moon and were spreading through the solar system, Moonbeam lived on one colony, the moon city of Utopia, "Thanks to people like our boy Moonbeam here though, it'll never live up till it's name." Smiled Puck.

The door opened and in walked Moonbeam's lackeys, I realised with a small shock that I recognised two of them, one was Roach, Alek's old mafia compadre, the other one was much more surprising, Rachel Berenson, ex-Animorph and apparently on my side this reality clutching what looked like an M16 assault rifle, hell I'd found her attractive before, but holding that gun like she knew how to use it she was a fuckin' stunner.

Moonbeam was smiling a maniac's grin, the kind that screamed 'Heeeere's Johnny!' He leapt from his chair and grabbed one guys shoulder "Is it, taken care of?" His entire right side of his face twitched when he talks.

"Yeah, yeah it's done David." The guy told him quickly, as if afraid for his life.

"No problems Dave." Rachel interjected, "and we made sure that rat-shit Dom took a very long time to die."

"Gi-yah!" Moonbeam yelled in delight at the roof and laughed like a lunatic, "Beautiful! Just beautiful!" All the others seemed to look relieved that he was so pleased. "Well ladies and gents, I think a few brewskis are in order, drink up!" They walked from the room, leaving an astral Puck and me alone.

"He seems a little on edge to be anything like me." I said to Puck.

Puck sneered, "Moonbeam's been a little on edge ever since he saw his daddy slitting mummy's throat and leaving her to die." Puck seemed amused telling me this. "Now Moonbeam, he had a passion for destruction like yours Davie boy, no need for a greater purpose or cause, he just loved destruction, he might've succeeded in fulfilling his destiny if only he'd had the means you've been given, no he only managed car-bombings, random acts of public violence, invoking gang warfare, oh sure, he was the terror of Utopia in his day but he just didn't have your ingenuity or luck Dave."

We'd changed locations seamlessly while Puck was talking to me, and judging by Moonbeam, time too, he and his posse were crouched in an ally, not far away I could see some sort of political conference was going on.

"This is it lads and lasses, were going in for the big time! Governor Clinton is going down!! " Moonbeam was jittering with excitement, the others just looked scared and nervous as hell, "Now baby! Now!" He ran from the ally followed by the rest of the posse, he was holding the same style of M16 gun Rachel was holding before and fired at the stage, people scattered, secret service men went for their weapons and tried to protect the governor but it was too late, his chest had blossomed with bullet wounds.

The police covering the area went nuts and started returning fire, the Moon Beam Posse returned with heavy fire from their assortment of submachine guns, Roach, clutching a pair of Mini Uzi's went down hard, firing wildly. Posse members and cops both were going down, Moonbeam and Rachel ran for it and Moonbeam took four in the chest, he flew backwards and slammed into a lamppost, pain etched on his face.

Perhaps out of instinct Rachel ran to him to check on him, the firing stopped, she grabbed him around the shoulders, "Too late," Moonbeam told her "Stick a fork in me baby, I'm done." He giggled wildly and broke into coughs of blood.

Rachel stayed by him, determined to stay by him till the end, he grabbed her by the back of the head and kissed her, forcing himself into her mouth, her eyes widened then lost herself in it till he broke away, "Life's like a bad cigar babe, it stinks and then it's over."

Rachel bought three in the back from one over zealous rookie; by the time she slumped over on top of Moonbeam both of them were dead.

Puck smiled cruelly, "And so ends the saga of David Moonbeam."

The Half-Drac laughed once more, and we were in another place…

……………………………………………………………….

"Ah, yes.  So many of them.  So, so many."

"And they all failed that miserably?"

"No, no.  Some came close.  One almost succeeded.  Let me tell you of the Beast that came the closest to his goal, David Berenson..."

          David Berenson was antisocial.  He didn't move around like you did, but he made no connections to anyone.  Not even to the human family he was placed in, not even his twin, Rachel.  When he moved to Syracuse, he found a glowing blue box one night, and brought it to school.  Of course, this universe had its own team of animal morphers, they called themselves Manimals.  They were under the "guidance" of a duo of runaway Maiar infants named Gri'yang and Fred, given a bunch of discarded Maiar weapons that allowed their animal morphs to… I think the word "evolve" is the best fit here.  Berenson had a run-in with them, and they stole the box.  I came to him in a dream, to get the box.  Beasts had failed before; I would do my damndest to make this one prevail.  The boy broke in and tried to steal the device.  The Manimals caught him, but they placed him in a very public situation and the Yeerks were notified to his presence.  He was made a Manimal.  Unlike you, however, he was rather compliant, until I gave him the Medusa Shield.  That Shield was perhaps the most powerful Demon artifact in history, barring the Ragnarok Stone, of course.  The Shield soon corrupted him, filled him with unimaginable power.  He destroyed the Syracuse Yeerk Pool, and all in it besides the Manimals and Visser Three.  He fled to space.

          Ah, the carnage that David Berenson wreaked on his dimension!  His first act was to slay the Council of Thirteen on Mordoria.  He killed Tak Sistranus without effort.  His power was almost insane.  Guided by voices inside the Shield, David wreaked havoc on countless worlds.  He blew up a moon of Concord Dawn; the populace was pelted with the fragments for decades!  He went to the Anati system, where Yeerk and Andalite fleets were battling, then cause the sun to supernova and destroy them both.  The tragedy of that battle was forever marred by the irony.  He would kill leaders on random worlds simply to drive the population into a panic whilst he would murder hordes of innocents, and not-so-innocents, if innocents could not be found.

And, of course, there was his opposition.  Ah, it's amazing how the imminent threat of certain death can bring races together.  Andalites, Yeerks, the Kelbrid Confederacy, even the Gervasid Protectorate, many neutral species, all of them joined together, putting in what measly little ships they had to form a fleet against Berenson.  Even Visser Three died a hero's death during the conflict.  Of course, the Manimals opposed him.  There was a piddling little leader named James, a technical nerd named Wu, a clairvoyant named Kay, a little moron named Rhea, an incredibly depressing being named Dan, and a stuck up bitch named Marisa.  Each had a bit of power over some element; Fire, Ice, Lightning or some other nonsense.  Luckily, the Medusa Shield, forged within the Machine Itself, was more than enough to handle them.

Just to be sure, I sent him armies of Dracs.  They were released through a portal in the Shield.  Hell, the Shield already contained several beings of severe power; Berenson unlocked a Shrike when he needed to escape.  The Shield had been used previously, by a High Demon named Ovilkhan, who attempted to conquer Egypt with it.

Ovilkhan resided in the Shield.  The Shield had the power to absorb whatever it needed.  Berenson continually absorbed whatever he destroyed.  Be it a leader, a planet, even a star, Berenson would destroy it, marvel at his own carnage, then absorb it.  Nothing would be left.  Even atoms would be obliterated.

Ever careful that his enemies might catch up with him, Berenson waited until he was unstoppable before confronting him.  He destroyed another solar system, goading them.  When they arrived, Berenson assumed the form of Ovilkhan, with a fair portion of his power.  It was more than enough to destroy them.  Their juvenile benefactors tried to help them, giving them the power of Maiar Summon creatures upon their deaths.  It wasn't enough.  They killed Berenson's body of course.  No body could stand up to the forces pounded into it.  But the Shield held onto his soul, he kept coming back.  He killed each of the Manimals, slaughtered them, one by one, violently.  But, those little Maiar brats found a way around that.  When he killed their leader, James, he turned into a Phoenix and revived himself and his fallen comrades.  They did what few other beings and no humans before did; they Ascended.  They became Maiar, powerful Maiar at that, completely one with their element.  They fought Berenson.  He made one last, desperate attempt, which I have many times wailed over.  He detonated himself.  The power such an act would destroy his universe, but such an act would have no ill consequence to him.  The Shield could infinitely revive him and his universe would be destroyed, his programming would be fulfilled.  But those Manimals contained the explosion, using their powers.  Berenson used up too much power to be able to exist without the Shield.  The Shield completely absorbed him.  He's nothing but a trapped mind within the Shield, floating around in the Ether.  Happy, saccharine ending for all others involved, including the two Maiar toddlers.  Purely sickening. Oh, I almost forgot…I let him out for a bit, into your friend Britz. Told him to kill LaRouche. Pity that didn't work out, isn't it?

"Ah, Berenson's realm was one of great chaos and destruction.  If only he had succeeded."

"You wanted Berenson to kill LaRouche so that he wouldn't attack me, just now?"

"Yeah, that's the general idea, yeah. The Dark Lord didn't exactly like your followers, though they made it possible for you to succeed."

Puck smiled, "One more stop, kid. I really hate this little son of a bitch. Almost fucked everything up for me, in the end, but hey, he may still come through."

…………………………………………………………

"And lastly, there's this one.   The Biggest Disappointment of All!"  Puck said, revealing a new image.  This David looked just like me, maybe was me.  "As you may have guessed, this one is your doppelganger , your exact double.  Same Person, but different.   James Hunting didn't die in this world, and thus Mr. Hunting kept his birth name.   Your Step-brother Taggart—a bully in this world. 

Puck chuckled.  "Amazing.  This one is most like you and in some ways, the most different.  He educated himself in movies, plays, and television.  You know . . .useless shit.  He bitched and moaned about moving every couple of months till in Atlanta he found a piece of happiness:  A loving girlfriend, supportive friends, and constant victories over his one iconic enemy: Brett Taggart.  Yes, everything was peachy-keen for Good David Hunting, and then he moves to California, New Jersey.  

"This movie-quoting bastard acted just like you when he was given the morphing powers.   And like you, he ended up a rat, and while for you, your rodentdom was just a step toward your ultimate destiny.   For him, it was a way for the Powers that Be to get him out of the way."

"Powers that be?" I asked.

"This is Crayak's dimension. I'm sure you've heard of him. After he was defeated in his self-provoked civil war of Hell, he rna off and hid out in this dimension, trying to set himself up as dictator, and the treasonous fucker put up a shield around it keeping us out of his little playpen.   I was still able to bond the essence of the Beast with one of his inhabitants, but other than that, we've been able to do little else, besides rig the 1996 superbowl, for a victory for the Green Bay Packers, and make Home Alone a moderately successful film.

From what I've been gathering from Crayak's three dimensional bitch-boy, it seems our Lord of Treason has been playing a game with a mortal who some how increased his State of Existence, and Ascended, just like your buddy Aleks wanted to.   Both Crayak and his opponent did not want one of their game pieces blowing up the board, so they copied your fate and influenced it so it became his.  Quite Genius."

"He doesn't look like a rat." 

"That's the best part.   Cassie!  Cassie the Animorph went back in time and saved his cowardly rodent ass from the rodent fate.  Then the little bastard decided to grow some balls and started actually helping the Animorphs!"

"He helped them?"

"Yes.  Stuck by them with a fair amount of pissing and moaning and bitching. He made actually made himself a soul! A human one! It's disgusting what he's done to his honourable Dracen roots!"

"So he doesn't destroy the universe.  An agent of good, fighting in a Demonic body?"  

"I know.  Oh, and after the war . . .  UG!  Don't get me started on how he completely ruins the Yeerks.  What a disappointment.  But, the little wiener still has potential.  He has great amounts of Dr. Doom-meglomaniacal delusions that he can unite the galaxy.   Ha Ha!   A united galaxy is easier to destroy than a divided one. And once our little 'Alexander the Great' wannabe takes over as leader, which he will most certainly be suckered into doing, that's when I will strike!"

"I thought Crayak blocked you from this dimension."

"Ha!  I got through once with just enough power to fuse him with the essence of my son.  I am gathering my energies to cross again.  It should be easier.  I see that David's actions may drive Crayak and his opponent out of this dimension.  That being the case, entering should be easier, but I guess all that doesn't matter know that _you_'_ve_ succeeded."

"So what's wonderboy doing now?"  I asked.

"Let's see . . . . He's . . . . what? . . . . . .WHAT IN THE . . . ?!!!!!!!!!!" shrieked Puck, now noticeably confused, and then angry, "HE ESCAPED! THAT FUCKING ORFF ESCAPED! DAMN HIM! HE'LL RUIN EVERYTHING!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

…………………………………………

I fell backwards through time…things moving backwards, restarting, re-beginning…the bomb, the fight, the ransom on Taloraan, the conversation with Melkor 2120, Z-Space, Galafurn…

I heard a voice, Pucks… "Get back, you fool! Get back to where you belong! You can't do this! It isn't allowed! You can't just do that NOW! You'll ruin EVERYTHING!"

Another voice replied, ethereal, strong, YOU HAVE NOT THE RIGHT TO DESTROY THIS REALM, QUINZ. I WILL CORRECT YOUR MISTAKE…

"You CAN'T! It's not allowed! This was my RIGHT! My LEGACY!"

YOU CANNOT STOP ME. TIME ITSELF HAS ALREADY MOVED BACK, BEFORE THE GREAT DESTRUCTION. I HAVE FOUND JUST THE PEOPLE…NO, THE PERSON, I NEED TO DEFEAT YOUR BEAST. WHO BETTER THAN HIS OWN FLESH AND BLOOD?

"No…you couldn't possibly…" 

I CAN, AND I WILL. DAVID HUNTING WILL BE TAKEN, QUINZ, AND HE WILL DEFEAT THE BEAST. THERE IS STILL MUCH LEFT TO PLAY. EVEN YOU CAN SEE THAT.

"NOOO!!!" Wailed Puck, "IT"S NOT FAIR! IT'S NOT FUCKING FAIR!"

Before I realized what was happening, it was the 16th of January, and Ceri was still building the bomb. LaRouche and Sara were out on patrol…

And I was sure…positive…that my time-destroying bomb would end my troubles with the Yeerks, once and for all.

AUTHORS NOTE: Yes! One more chapter to go! To be posted on Christmas Eve!

I had a good deal of help with this chapter. The segment for David Moonbeam was written by Britz (the fanfic author) based upon an idea from myself and Ryan Griffin. 

The segment for David Berenson is based upon characters and situations created by myself and Ryan Griffin, for the upcoming fanfic, "Manimals," by Ryan Griffin. He also penned Berenson's segment in this chapter.

Finally, the chapter for David Hunting was, of course, written by Augestine Quill (The MASTER!) with some small additions and editing by myself.

My great thanks to all these authors who took the time to contribute their mark to Antimorphs. Thanks, guys, you did great!

Only a few more hours till the end! 

-Colin


	46. Epilogue: Destiny

EPILOGUE: DESTINY

LaROUCHE

I stood in the Ether with the man named Whistler.

Perhaps, 'man', isn't a good word to describe him, because the things that Whistler was capable of were things that no 'man' could do.

For instance, stopping time to prevent the Ragnarok Stone from leaving my dimension and all other realities bleeding into each other, allowing the Stone to leave this dimensional plane and find it's way back to Hell, itself.

Or at least, that's what he told me.

"You did good back there, kid. Real good."

"Thanks, I guess."

"No, seriously. You set events in motion, that will, eventually, end at some very positive destinations. Because of you, a creature from this dimension has gone on a quest to bring champions, from another reality, to fight David Taggart, and stop this stinkin' Apocalypse from ever happening. Without you, none of it would be possible."

"I'm still a bit fuzzy on what happened."

"When you attacked David, the Machine, within the Stone, sensed that it's time was near. It called Aleks to come and claim it when it's power was at it's peak. The Stone caused Aleks' hand to burst into flame, causing an explosion that set off the time-bomb. Since you were in Z-Space, it acted as an enhancer, allowing the bomb to rip reality apart at the seams."

"Woah, cosmic."

"You've got no idea," Whistler said, in his turn of the century, Brooklyn accent.

"I still don't get a lot of it."

"Yeah, I know. It's all terribly confusing."

"What exactly are you?" I asked

Whistler laughed good-naturedly, "I used to be a human, and a lousy one, at that. Had some problems with the mob back in '19, and I managed to take down a platoon of Shifty's that they sent after me. Long story short, the Power saw that I was a good person, and It offered me a position: To be it's direct messenger on the mortal plane."

"So…you're an Angel?"

Whistler smiled, "Not really. Try Demon."

I jumped back, "DEMON?!"

"Sure! Not all Demons are dedicated to the destruction of all life, you know. I'm just a guy that is more than a normal human being, who speaks for the Power on all occasions."

"When you say that you speak to the Power…does that mean your all high and mighty with God?"

"I suppose. I mean, I'm no saint. Even though I'm immortal, this job is taking it's toll on me. I'm tired of it all, some of the things I've seen…just…I find it difficult to do it. The Power promised me that after the Beast was defeated, I could train a replacement."

I had a sneaking suspicion… "You want me to replace you?"

"HECK NO! You've still got a LOT to do down there. I've chosen Sanders to replace me. He'll take over soon enough."

"What are the thing you've seen, that made it so bad?" I asked, confused at what would be so terrible.

"Like…this." Whistler snapped his fingers, and we instantly stood on a long, flat, blasted plane, surrounded by massive mountains in the distance. The sky itself was fire, and a hard wind, carrying dust, swept by.

"This is the plateau of Targototh," Whistler said, "And that is the Dark Tower of Gharanz-Tyre," He pointed to a MASSIVE, jet black structure, jutting high into the sky.

"It was raised by the Demon Ovilkhan, the HellSmith, so many eons ago. The home of the Dark Lord," He said grimly, "In a dimension of fear, on a mountain of death, in a castle of skulls, he sits on a throne of blood."

Tower upon tower…battlement upon battlement. Thick and impenetrable stone, surrounded by walls and gates, heads of many different species jutting on pikes upon the fortress's walls. 

Buzzing around the highest visible point of the tower, (before it entered the black clouds) encircled hundreds…no…thousands…of winged, blazing skeletons, small chunks of flesh still hanging stubbornly to the bone.

"Dracs, the soldier Demon. Skeletons imbued with living Dracon energy. This is what becomes of the dead who choose the Machine over the Power. "

A lone Drac flew down and landed not a hundred feet away. It's skull was topped by demonic horns, it's eyes red, blazing orbs. It was surrounded by red, flowing Dracon, and in it's hand was a flaming, red sword.

"For many eons, these Dracs were let loose upon all reality. They filled every world with their Hordes, making said dimensions like this world, Tartarus."

He started to say more, but on top of a massive, black mountain in the distance, was a creature, twenty feet high, holding a blue, flaming sword, called a bone-chilling war-cry. It looked like a scarred and bloody, humanoid lion, all it's mane burnt away save a few tufts, with giant, blood-shot eyes.

"GRAAAAARRRHHHAAA!!!"

"That's Azorath. The word means 'twisted,' as it rightfully should be. Azorath was once a Maiar, the greatest friend of Marius, the Dark Lord when his heart was still good. He defied the Power and was twisted and mutilated into that ruined being. He personifies everything that the Machine would have done to all Reality, if no one stood in It's way."

Whislter looked at Azorath, saddened, and said, "Do you wish to see more?"

"No."

Whistler flicked his fingers, and we were back in the Ether.

"What gives you the right," I asked, "To play games with us all?"

"I don't have the right. It's the Power. And it isn't a game, it's a design. It has a plan, and nothing is left to vain or chance."

"It used me! It used us all! It manipulated us at every turn, and YOU helped It!"

"Yeah, I did."

"You used as…as…fucking TOYS! Chess pieces!"

"We did."

"So what gives you the right? I'm DEAD now, because of you and your stupid wars! Is this what you wanted? David STILL succeeded, even though I TRIED to stop him! Mephisto has still won!"

"No. He hasn't. Even now, a being of great power and substance from your dimension has used innate abilities to leave, to find a group of warriors capable of defeating the Beast and his minions."

"Great," I said, "Now I get to go back and fight some more."

"Yes! That's what it is, LaRouche. You are a soldier for the Power. You fight for Good because your heart is true and pure. In the ancient prophecies, you were known as the Loyal, and with Skorre, the Warrior, and Sara, the Innocent, you can defeat the Beast and the Mercenary!"

"What about Ripper?"

"Ripper still has a part to play, for good or ill. He will determine the fate of many. He must still redeem himself, which he will, and you will help him."

"That doesn't make any sense at all."

"It doesn't have to. You don't have to understand Fate, Marc LaRouche. You and these warriors, from another universe, are all that stand between the preservation of life and slavery, tyranny and Hell itself. Soon, the fates of all will be decided, when worlds collide."

Whistler looked a me, with a slight twinkle in his eye, "Already have your allies, and all who perished, been called back. You must now go, back, and fulfill your destiny. There is still so much that must be done, and by you, most of all."

"Like what?"

"You couldn't imagine. Your going to change a lot, kid, and you'll do fine. At long last, the prophecies  of old have at last come true. The Yeerk Empire holds the galaxy in it's claws, while the Andalites have floundered. Men have taken on Demonic traits, and a Beast has succeeded in its grim task."

"Prophecies!" I scoffed, "I had a hand in all that."

"Surely you don't doubt the authenticity of the prophecies simply because you helped to bring them about," Whistler laughed, "More than one force is at work in this battle, kid. I'd be lying if I told you that none of fate was left to chance or choice. But what was foretold has, nonetheless, come to pass."

Whistler went on, "You are but a very small person, Marc LaRouche, and although I am very fond of you, it is quite a large universe out there, and there are other worlds than these."

"So what lies ahead?" I asked.

"For you? Shadow and Fire. Nothing but Shadow and Fire. Although, I can offer one small bit of advice…"

"And what would that be?" I asked, uncertain if I wanted to hear it or not.

"When it comes down to it, let me take care of the Mercenary and his ghostly ally. You don't want his kind of blood on your hands, kid. It burns."

"Who's the Mercenary?" I asked, "Who is his ally?"

"Havn't you figured it out yet?" Whistler replied, "It's…"

I tried to hear what else Whistler had to say, but already I was being sucked back through time, and into life. Time was moving backwards, because something in the past had changed. I slowly forgot all that I had been shown…Demons and Dracs and Azoraths and Dark Towers and Tartarus…

I woke up, and I was in the air, on patrol, with Sara, when a most unusual sight caught my eye…

Sara, does that look like a Hawk to you?

Definitely, LaRouche. A Human-controller in morph. Let's get him!

And we dove!

The End…for now…


	47. From The Author

From the author, 

December 24th, 2002…

Well, that was one Hell of a ride, now, wasn't it? It was certainly fun writing it, and I hope you all enjoyed reading it.

As you may have guessed, there is a good deal to come. The remainder of this story will not be written by me, but by Augestine Quill as a crossover with his story, One Least Likely. I hope you all keep up to date with OLL, as it has been a major inspiration for the Saga.

Also, my friend Ryan Griffin is coming out with a great story called 'Manimals,' set in the Antimorphs Mythology. Many references to Manimals have been made so far, and I hope you read that story when it comes out.

Many people helped make this fic a reality. I'd like to thank, first and foremost, Augestine Quill, for the criticism, the ideas, the support and the amazing fic he himself wrote. Also, thanks to Ryan Griffin , for his support and the great conversation he has provided me, as well as the help he gave me in developing the mythos. 

Thanks to Britz, my man down in Australia. Thanks for the reviewes and support, MM, as well as listening to all my crazy ideas,

Thanks to the Wandering Blue Andalite and Smegger for their reviews and fandom.

And thanks to all of you, who read the Saga, dropped a review, and emailed me with your thoughts. 

I had a great time writing the Saga, and my writing days here on Fanfiction.net are not nearly done. 

Remember to keep close tabs on One Least Likely, because soon…Early 2003…there will be a huge crossover…

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE!!!!!!!!

Sincerely, 

Colin James Mitchell

elcolo9@yahoo.com

elcolo9@hotmail.com


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